Animal Camouflage : Mechanisms and Function

Stevens, Martin and Merilaita, Sami - Edited by

ISBN 10: 0521199115 / ISBN 13: 9780521199117

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2011

About this Item

Tall 8vo, i-xii, 357 pp, figures throughout from photographs , diagrams, drawings and tables. Laminated boards, as new.

Seller Inventory # 1000111384

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Animal Camouflage : Mechanisms and Function
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521199115
• ISBN 13: 9780521199117
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 1.5 kilograms
• Seller catalogs:
  • Zoos , Natural History, Animal Husbandry

About this title

Synopsis

In the last decade, research on the previously dormant field of camouflage has advanced rapidly, with numerous studies challenging traditional concepts, investigating previously untested theories and incorporating a greater appreciation of the visual and cognitive systems of the observer. Using studies of both real animals and artificial systems, this book synthesises the current state of play in camouflage research and understanding. It introduces the different types of camouflage and how they work, including background matching, disruptive coloration and obliterative shading. It also demonstrates the methodologies used to study them and discusses how camouflage relates to other subjects, particularly with regard to what it can tell us about visual perception. The mixture of primary research and reviews shows students and researchers where the field currently stands and where exciting and important problems remain to be solved, illustrating how the study of camouflage is likely to progress in the future.

About the Authors

Martin Stevens is a BBSRC David Phillips Fellow based in the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge. His research focuses on sensory ecology and behaviour and has covered bird colour vision, computational models of colour and spatial vision, anti-predator markings, brood parasitism and cuckoos and sexual signals and vision in primates.

Sami Merilaita is an Academy of Finland Research Fellow in the Department of Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Finland. His research focuses on questions related to the evolution and function of animal colouration, especially with regard to prey concealment. He has also studied anti-predator signalling, factors influencing maintenance of colour polymorphism and sexual selection.