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The Use Of A Feeding Assay To Test The Effects Of Visual Color Contrast On Stimulus Visibility In The Lizard Anolis Sagrei And The Evolution Of Anolis Species In The Dominican Republic, Austin Burnham
Honors Theses
Many animals depend on color signals for communication. It has been hypothesized that signals evolve toward maximum visibility against natural backgrounds. Testing this hypothesis requires a way to assess the influence of signal/background color contrast on signal visibility. Most tests such as these rely on training, which can be very time consuming and difficult for some types of animals. We created a method for testing color contrasts using the lizard Anolis sagrei. We colored dead worms using powdered food coloring and placed them on backgrounds of varying colors and luminance. We presented stimuli in pairs that differed in contrast with …
Habitat Light And Signal Color Evolution In 5 Species Of Anoles From The Dominican Republic And The Use Of A Feeding Assay To Test The Effects Of Visual Color Contrast On Stimulus Visibility In The Lizard Anolis Sagrei, Raymond Farmer
Honors Theses
Anolis lizards have excellent color vision and depend on their eyesight to detect visual signals made by other anoles. The dewlap, a colorful and expandable flap of skin, lies beneath the jaw in male anoles and is a primary signaling structure used for territorial and courtship displays. This paper focuses on dewlap color diversity and its evolutionary rudiments. With this in mind, the research team traveled to the Dominican Republic and collected natural habitat light data and dewlap and body color data from the local anoline inhabitants. We hypothesized that light environment would be the main driver behind dewlap color …