Animals that camouflage well. Research paper "how animals play hide and seek"

How animals play hide and seek.

Introduction

"Nature doesn't do anything for nothing"
Thomas Brown

The choice of the topic of my research work is not accidental.We often go for a walk in the forest with the whole family on weekends. My brother and I watch animals that we accidentally come across. But only an attentive person can see some wild animals; it seems that they are playing hide and seek with us. I became interested in how and why they do this, and so I chose this topic.

The relevance of this topic is difficult to overestimate. Throughout history there has beenhuman development, he is an integral part of nature. Since we live in the city, for many, reconnecting with nature seems problematic, boring, and many simply do not have enough time for it. And many do not know that what is a game for us is a way of survival for many animals.

Hypothesis:

many species of animals could not exist without camouflage to suit their environment (without the skills to play hide and seek).

Target:

consider ways to camouflage animals in their habitat.

Tasks:

1) consider photographic material of various animals.

2) consider photographic material of the habitat of these animals.

3) analyze and compare the environment and animals in a playful way.

Research methods:

1) comparison, 2) analysis, 3) game.

Object of study : animals, habitat.

Subject of study : animal camouflage.

Main part

1. Animals live in a constant state of self-preservation. The food chain bypasses almost no one. In the animal world there is not and cannot be life without struggle: herbivores eat plants, and predators eat weaker animals. But no animal wants to voluntarily fall into the jaws of a predator. If it does not have the strength to defend itself or escape, it must use camouflage. This is what happens in nature. Predators often use camouflage to get close to their prey unnoticed. And the methods of camouflage in animals are very diverse and bizarre.

In order to somehow protect the life of the animal and make the hunting of predators a little more difficult, nature made a very interesting move. Many animals do not take any special actions to protect themselves from enemies. Nature took care of them, giving them various protective devices that allow them to passively defend themselves from predators. Some have a protective coloring, which makes them invisible to the eyes of enemies, while others, on the contrary, have a very bright, deterrent coloring, warning the predator that this animal is poisonous or inedible. Some animals have a body shape that resembles the objects around them, which also misleads the predator and saves the animal from death.

In nature, both predators and their prey are often forced to live side by side. And predators often become someone’s prey themselves. To survive, animals camouflage themselves to match the color and shape of the environment in which they live. For example, desert snakes or lizards are grayish-yellow in color, matching the color of the surrounding soil and vegetation, and animals living among the snow have white fur or plumage.

The camouflage of animals is sometimes simply surprising. The extent to which some can blend in with their surroundings seems simply impossible.

Passing by, you will never see a lizard hiding on the bark of a tree or in the foliage, or an eagle owl, which, despite the fact that it is a fairly large bird, has become practically invisible against the background of the ribbed surface of the bark. Scientifically, this is called Mimicry - the color and shape of an animal, which makes it less noticeable against the background of the environment, or the resemblance of the animal to the objects that surround it. This is especially developed in insects. Sometimes you won’t be able to distinguish an insect from a leaf or branch the first time. All animals: beasts, fish, birds, reptiles know how to camouflage themselves perfectly. Looking at them, a person can learn a lot - the examples of camouflage in wildlife are simply unsurpassed.

Sometimes these beautiful photos Animal disguises become a puzzle to be solved.

2. Camouflage methods.

Often the color of animals is similar to the color of the environment in which they live.
A color that matches the main color of the environment and helps the animal remain invisible to the enemy is called protective, or protective. This type of coloration may be to some extent the same for animals from completely different geographical areas. natural areas. For example, grasshoppers or mantises, frogs, toads or lizards living in the grassy area of ​​the middle zone are characterized by a green color. It also predominates in the coloring of insects, amphibians or reptiles. tropical forests, where even among birds there are many species with green plumage.
Often, protective painting includes a pattern. For example, ribbon butterflies have grayish-brown upper wings with many stripes, lines, and spots. When the ribbon fly sits along a tree trunk and folds its wings into a “house,” it literally merges with the color and pattern of the bark.

We see the camouflage or protective coloring of animals at every step. Butterfly caterpillars are usually the same color as the leaves on which they develop. Green grasshoppers use green camouflage to match the color of the grass that gives them shelter. Birds living in the grass or among branches are also green in color (greenfinches, warblers, green woodpeckers .). In the forests of hot countries with evergreen trees, animals of green colors or multi-colored ones, colored to match the color of the surrounding vegetation, predominate. There you can find green parrots, green lizards, snakes, frogs and other animals in abundance.

The lower surface of the wings of wren butterflies and many others is similar in color to withered old leaves. When these butterflies land and fold their wings, they become almost invisible against the brown background of leaves and bark.

Small spiders and bugs are perfectly camouflaged on tree bark. They are difficult to detect even at close range.

Animals hiding among last year's grass, leaves, stems have a yellow-brown color with streaks (partridge and snipe, woodcock and black grouse ). In case of danger, such birds freeze in place, take a position and appearance corresponding to inanimate objects, and become even more inconspicuous. Nightjars, whose color resembles the color of tree bark, cling to horizontal branches and merge with them; Avdotki (steppe birds) lie on the ground and, stretching out their necks, take on the appearance of stones or pieces of clay; bitterns stretch to their full height, and they cannot be distinguished from reeds. The spiny neck is perfectly camouflaged. Sitting in the grass, it quickly twists its small round head, and is more likely to be mistaken for a snake than a bird.

In animals of deserts and steppe expanses (antelopes, camels, lions .) gray and brown colors of various shades predominate, which camouflages them well among the sands and rocks.

Tigers with their vertical stripes, making their way in the reeds between bright green young shoots and yellow old ones, excellently use certain lighting conditions, the play of light and shadows for camouflage. Spotted panthers also fit well into the round patches of light in the forest.

White hare, arctic fox, weasel Those living in the temperate zone change their fur coat twice a year by molting; polar bear, inhabitant polar ice, always wears the same sheepskin coat.

Dress according to the season andwhite partridge : in summer it is brownish-red, in winter it is white. A snowy owl nesting in the tundra always wears the same outfit.

White partridge in summer dress

Incubating females that nest in open places, saves them from extermination by the fact that their coloring is usually in harmony with the surrounding environment and is protective. Males have more varied coloring, but, in general, their coloring remains protective. This happens in birds that live in pairs and in which the male takes part in caring for the offspring.

Green color is the best camouflage

Since the main color of vegetation is green, and the vegetation itself occupies significant spaces, there are a lot of green-colored animals. Many insects, amphibians, reptiles and some birds living in the middle geographical zone have this color, in its different variations: grasshoppers, mantises, frogs, toads, lizards, as well as insects, amphibians and reptiles of tropical forests, where even among birds there are many species with green plumage. Among mammals there are also animals whose fur has a greenish tint. For example, a tropical forest dweller is a sloth.

In those natural areas where the seasons change and the vegetation turns yellow, orange and red in autumn, animals with the same color are found.
White color
Animals of the North have to adapt to two directly opposite colors of the environment over the course of one year. If in the warm season the local nature has dark tones, then in winter everything is white. Therefore, animals that want to be invisible cannot have the same color throughout the year, unlike animals in more temperate latitudes, where the color contrasts of the environment do not change so dramatically. Many animals at high latitudes change their color throughout the year depending on the color of their environment. So, in the winter they molt and change the dark color of their plumage or fur to white. The white hare, widespread in Russia, has a reddish-gray coat in summer, and in the fall, as cold weather approaches, it sheds: the old coat falls out, and a new, white coat grows in its place. The ptarmigan in summer has reddish-brownish plumage, matching the color of the moss swamps where it usually builds its nest, and with the onset of winter it turns white, which is reflected in its species name.Arctic fox, weasel Those living in the temperate zone change their fur coat twice a year by molting; The polar bear, an inhabitant of the polar ice, always wears the same sheepskin coat. A snowy owl nesting in the tundra always wears the same outfit.

Conclusion

As a result of my research, I found out, what in wildlife Animal survival can be a daunting task, especially if you are smaller or slower than your enemies. Therefore, many species have developed different methods of camouflage; nature took care and tried to endow almost everyone with the ability to hide.

These methods are different for everyone, but mainly depend on three factors: the physiology and behavior of the animal, the physiology and behavior of the predator and the habitat in which the animal lives and hunts.The easiest way is to blend into the surrounding background. In addition, each new generation adapts to the ability to camouflage better and better. Typically, animals imitate the color of their environment, although some animals are able to take on this color themselves - for example, the well-known chameleons.

Having taken and compared a number of photographs (appendix), we can conclude: if the animal did not have camouflage and did not know how to hide, it would become easy prey for its enemies.

I also divided the animals that I considered in my research work into 2 groups: predators that camouflage to catch prey and animals that may turn out to be that prey.

My work can help both younger schoolchildren and their parents understandhow nature took care of its charges.It can be used on classroom hours, deepen knowledgeI'm a junior high school student about animals, with the help of visuals,use in lessons on the surrounding worldto develop knowledge about the camouflage of animals in their environment.

I want to end my research with poems abouthareauthorM. Piudunen and N. Volkova, who talk about the role of camouflage in nature and once again prove how important it is for animals to play hide and seek.
Bunnywalked through the forest
Changed my white fur coat
On beautiful gray fur
To hide from everyone
Under trees, bushes, between
Huge stones
So that both in the field and in the forest
He managed to outwit the fox.



I'm gray-grayhareI'm drawing.
In the distance, behind a snowdrift, there is a deep ravine,
There is a hidden enemy in the ravine!
Two pointy ears stick out from the snow -
The fox guards the defenseless bunnies!
What to do?!
What to do?!
I do not play like that!
I erase the gray hare with an eraser.
On a white piece of paper with an oblique line
I'm drawing a white, white hare.
And let them say that my drawing is empty...
I hear the bushes moving, crunching,
I see footprints in the fluffy snow.
And I will save the bunny from the enemy!

Many representatives of the wild animal world, especially those that most lives are spent in open spaces, even with close proximity predator, manage to remain unnoticed, and therefore survive, thanks to effective camouflage, combining appropriate color shades and spots with certain patterns and shapes. This extremely common method of protection, called cryptic or protective coloring, has many different forms, which can be divided into two categories:

  • camouflage- the ability to combine certain shades with the applied pattern, allowing the animal to remain practically invisible against its usual background, or to somewhat conceal or distort the outlines of its body so that the predator is not able to distinguish them;
  • disguise- the external resemblance of an animal acquired in the process of evolution to any objects surrounding it, for example, a leaf, a twig, which are not of interest to the predator as food.

Both camouflage and camouflage are effective only when they are combined with appropriate animal behavior. The animal instinctively finds a background that masks it, since it has highly developed sensory organs that allow it to promptly detect the source of danger and immediately freeze, or, conversely, reproduce the natural movement of the objects around it - the swaying of leaves or the swaying of grass.

The ability to camouflage is most pronounced in creatures that are small, weak and lack other means of defense, for example, in female birds, which this moment They make nests in open areas and hatch eggs or raise young animals. The body of the cubs of such animals is usually covered with a brighter, contrasting pattern (stripes or spots) than that of their parents, which provides additional protection during the most dangerous period of life.

Camouflage has one very interesting detail: within the same species of animals you can find populations that differ sharply in color, acquired in accordance with the characteristics of their habitat. This phenomenon is called polymorphism and is observed, in particular, in most desert inhabitants.


Many animals change color with the seasons, which increases their chances of survival. Thus, northern animals, such as the white hare, ermine or arctic fox, wear brown “clothes” in the summer, and in winter they dress in a white “fur coat” to match the color of the snow.

Unlike animals that gradually change color with the changing seasons, there are also true masters of instant disguises. In this regard, the octopus and its relatives the cuttlefish and squid have no equal. Octopuses literally in a matter of seconds can “merge” with any background from white to black, including all kinds of color combinations of stones and algae. However, with all the variety of cryptic coloring, it loses its meaning if bright sunlight clearly outlines the contours of the animal’s body or casts a shadow on the ground. And yet, many animals found a way out of even such a difficult situation: they “got rid of” the shadow or tried to minimize its influence, that is, they took advantage of the so-called “Peter Pan” effect (remember, the hero of the famous English fairy tale lost his shadow) .

Thus, antelopes and deer, as well as birds that lead a terrestrial lifestyle, instinctively fall or press themselves to the ground in moments of danger. In addition, many owners of cryptic coloring are also distinguished by concealing countershade - the upper part of the body is darker than the lower, which reduces the effect of direct sunlight. As a result, it seems that their bodies are evenly colored and look flat, making them difficult to distinguish even against a background of similar color.

A more complex method of camouflage, often combined with concealing countershadow, is dismembered coloring, due to which the clear outline of the body seems to break up into separate spots or stripes.

The most striking example of this is the zebra, whose zigzag stripes on the back and belly make the horse almost invisible in the light of dawn or at dusk.

Even more skillfully camouflaged are animals that, in the process of evolution, have acquired a resemblance to objects or plants that surround them in natural conditions - flowers, twigs, stems or stones. For example, a clouded leopard can easily blend into its environment, since most animals are color blind and see everything in black and white. Comfortably sitting on a branch, a wild cat motionlessly waits for its prey. The dark spots on the skin of a leopard are shaped like leaves, so in the dark the silhouette of the animal becomes almost invisible.

Oksana Romanenko

Protective coloration is the protective color and shape of animals that make their owners invisible in their habitats. Essentially, this is a type of passive defense against natural predators. The protective coloring is combined with a certain behavior of its owner. Usually the animal hides against a background that matches its color; in addition, it takes a certain pose. For example, many butterflies are located on the surface of a tree in such a way that the spots on their wings coincide with the spots on the bark, and the bittern, which nests in the reeds, stretches its body along the stems of plants in case of danger.

The role of passive protection in the life of animals

Protective coloration is especially important for the protection of organisms at an early stage of ontogenesis (larvae, eggs, chicks), as well as for adult individuals that lead a sedentary lifestyle or are at rest (for example, sleeping) for a long period. In addition, it plays an important role in conditions of rapid environmental change. Thus, many animals have the ability to change color when moving to a different background. For example, agama, flounder, chameleon. In temperate latitudes, many animals and birds are subject to seasonal color changes.

It is customary to distinguish three types of protective coloring: camouflage, demonstration and mimicry. All of them arise as a result of the interaction of living beings in biogeocenosis against the background of certain environmental conditions. Protective coloration is a biocenotic adaptation developed as a result of the conjugate evolution of predators and prey. In addition to protective colors, there are also warning, attracting and dismembering colors.

Protective painting

As mentioned above, the protective coloration of animals always resembles the environment in which they live. For example, desert lizards or snakes have a yellow-gray color to match the vegetation and soil, and the inhabitants of snowy areas have white feathers and fur. This camouflage of animals allows them to remain invisible to enemies. It may be to some extent the same for the inhabitants of completely different natural zones. For example, praying mantises or grasshoppers, lizards or frogs living in the grassy area of ​​the middle zone are characterized by a green color. It also predominates in insects, reptiles, amphibians, and even in some species of birds of tropical forests. Often, protective painting may include a pattern. For example, ribbon butterflies have a pattern of many stripes, spots and lines on their wings. When they sit on a tree, they completely merge with the pattern of its bark. Another important element of protective coloring is the counter-shade effect - this is when the illuminated side of the animal has a darker color than the one in the shadow. This principle is observed in fish that live in upper layers water.

Seasonal coloring

For example, consider the inhabitants of the tundra. Thus, partridges or arctic foxes in summer have a brown color to match the color of vegetation, stones and lichens, and in winter period it turns white. Also the inhabitants middle zone, such as foxes, weasels, hares, and stoats, change their coat color twice a year. Seasonal colors also exist in insects. For example, a leaf fly with folded wings is surprisingly similar to a tree leaf. In summer it is green, and in autumn it turns brown-yellow.

Repellent coloring

Animals with bright colors are clearly visible; they often stay open and do not hide in case of danger. They don't need to be careful as they are often poisonous or inedible. Their warning coloring signals to everyone around them - don’t touch them. Most often it includes various combinations of the following colors: red, black, yellow, white. As an example, a number of insects can be cited: wasps, bees, hornets, ladybugs, etc.; and animals: dart frogs, salamanders. For example, poison dart frog mucus is so poisonous that it is used to treat arrowheads. One such arrow can kill a large leopard.

What is mimicry?

Let's look at what is meant by this term. Mimicry in animals is the similarity of defenseless species with well-protected species. A similar phenomenon in nature was first discovered in South American butterflies, so in flocks of giliconids (inedible for birds) white butterflies were noticed, which were very similar in color, size, shape and flight style to the first ones. This phenomenon is widespread among insects (glassy butterflies disguise themselves as hornets, sifid flies as wasps and bees), fish and snakes. Well, we've looked at what mimicry is, now let's look at the concept of form, dividing and changing coloring.

Protective form

There are many animals whose body shape is similar to various objects in the environment. Such properties save them from enemies, especially if the shape is combined with protective coloring. There are many types of caterpillars that can stretch out at an angle to a tree branch and freeze, in which case they become like a twig or twig. The resemblance to plants is widespread in the tropical species of devil, cicada adelungia, cyclopera, acridoxena, etc. The clown sea or rag-horse can camouflage themselves with the help of their body.

Dismembering coloring

The coloring of many representatives of the animal world is a combination of stripes and spots that do not correspond to the shape of the owner, but in tone and pattern they merge with the surrounding background. This coloration seems to dismember the animal, hence its name. An example would be a giraffe or a zebra. Their spotted and striped figures are almost invisible among the vegetation of the African savanna, especially at dusk, when they go hunting. A large camouflage effect due to the dismembered coloring can be observed in some amphibians. For example, the body of the South African toad Bufo superciliaris is visually divided into two parts, as a result of which it completely loses its shape. Many also have distinct colors, which makes them invisible against the background of fallen leaves and variegated vegetation. In addition, this type of disguise is actively used by residents underwater world and insects.

Changing color

This property makes animals unnoticeable when the environment changes. There are many fish that can change their color when the background changes. For example, flounder, thalassoma, pipefish, pipits, blennies, etc. Lizards can also change their color, this is most clearly manifested in the tree chameleon. In addition, the octopus mollusk changes its color in case of danger; it can also skillfully camouflage itself under soils of any color, while repeating the most cunning ornament of the seabed. Various crustaceans, amphibians, insects and spiders masterfully manage their colors.