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Understanding Camouflage
This document discusses different types of animal camouflage including cryptic coloration, disruptive coloration, mimicry, and countershading. Cryptic coloration allows animals to blend into their surroundings to avoid detection. Disruptive coloration uses patterns that break up an animal's outline and confuse predators. Mimicry involves resembling another organism like a poisonous species. Countershading makes the top of an animal darker and bottom lighter to blend in from both above and below. Examples like crabs, fish, and penguins are given to illustrate these camouflage techniques.
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Understanding Camouflage
- 1.
- 2. Why camouflage? Remember thefour basic needs of animals:
- 3. Why camouflage? Remember thefour basic needs of animals: Food Water Shelter Space Animals need to find all of these things in their habitats.
- 4. Why camouflage? Camouflage helpsanimals to blend in with their environment so that they can find what they need and raise their young.
- 5. Have you seencamouflage? Can you think of any examples of camouflage? Write down at least two examples.
- 6. Four kinds ofcamouflage One way to understand camouflage is to think about four different kinds of camouflage: • Cryptic coloration • Disruptive coloration • Mimicry • Countershading
- 7. Four kinds ofcamouflage One way to understand camouflage is to think about four different kinds of camouflage: • Cryptic coloration • Disruptive coloration • Mimicry • Countershading
- 8. Cryptic coloration Cryptic colorationis a kind of camouflage in which animals try to blend in with the background Can you find the fiddler crab?
- 9. Cryptic coloration How isthis ghost crab using cryptic coloration? Notice that the tiny ghost crab is hard to see. It blends in with the sand. This is an example of cryptic coloration.
- 10. Cryptic coloration How doescryptic coloration help this ghost crab to survive? Ghost crabs live in burrows on the beach, but go down to the waves each day to wet their gills and find food. Their camouflage helps them to avoid being eaten.
- 11. Cryptic coloration How dothese inchworms blend in with their environment? These inchworms are the same color as the leaves that they are feeding on. This helps to keep them from being eaten by hungry birds.
- 12. Cryptic coloration Why iscryptic coloration important for this cheetah? Even though cheetahs don’t have to hide from predators, their spots help them to avoid being seen as they hunt for prey.
- 13. Cryptic coloration Think backto the examples that you thought of. Which ones were cryptic coloration? How were the animals trying to blend in with their surroundings?
- 14. Four kinds ofcamouflage • Cryptic coloration • Disruptive coloration • Mimicry • Countershading
- 15. Disruptive coloration Animals thatuse disruptive coloration aren’t trying to blend in. Instead, they’re trying to dazzle and confuse their predators.
- 16. Disruptive coloration This creatureis a star tortoise. It naturally lives in areas with tall grass. How does it use disruptive coloration? The star-like pattern on the tortoise breaks up the tortoise’s outline. This makes it hard to see in tall grass.
- 17. Disruptive coloration Scientists thinkthat a zebra’s stripes are an example of disruptive coloration. Why do you think so? When there are many zebras together, a predator might have trouble telling one zebra from another.
- 18. Disruptive coloration How isdisruptive coloration different from cryptic coloration? How is disruptive coloration similar to cryptic coloration?
- 19. Four kinds ofcamouflage • Cryptic coloration • Disruptive coloration • Mimicry • Countershading
- 20. Mimicry Animals that showa form of camouflage called mimicry look similar to something else
- 21. Mimicry Sometimes, a non-poisonouscreature will have coloring that looks like a poisonous creature. Many insects look like bumblebees. Why might it be useful to mimic a bumblebee?
- 22. Mimicry In another formof mimicry, two poisonous creatures will look similar to one another. The viceroy and the monarch butterflies are both poisonous. Having similar colors means that predators will avoid them both.
- 23. Review Look at themole crab in the picture. What kind of camouflage does it show? Why do you think so? The mole crab shows cryptic coloration. It’s hard to see against the sand.
- 24. Review Look at thegiraffe in the picture. What kind of camouflage does it show? Why do you think so? The giraffe is probably an example of disruptive coloration.
- 25. Review This tiger swallowtailis not poisonous…but it looks like the pipevine swallowtail, which is. What kind of camouflage is this? This is an example of mimicry.
- 26. Four kinds ofcamouflage • Cryptic coloration • Disruptive coloration • Mimicry • Countershading
- 27. Countershading Animals that havecountershading are darker on the top, and lighter on the bottom From below, these creatures blend in with the bright sky or sun above them… And from above, they blend in with the darker land or water below them.
- 28. Countershading This largemouth bassis a predator. How does countershading help it to survive?
- 29. Countershading What other creatureswith countershading can you think of? Penguins Some kinds of sharks White-tailed deer Some caterpillars Squirrels
- 30. Review How can countershadinghelp these penguins to avoid a leopard seal?
- 31. Review • Cryptic coloration •Disruptive coloration • ___________________ • Countershading Which kind of camouflage is missing?
- 32. Review • Cryptic coloration •Disruptive coloration • Mimicry • Countershading
- 33. Review What kind ofcamouflage does this animal show? Crayfish have cryptic coloration to blend in with the bottom of the stream. They also show countershading, because their undersides are lighter.
- 34. Review Explain how cryptic colorationhelps this flounder to survive.
- 35.
- 36.
- 37. What have youlearned? Go back to your list of animals with camouflage. What kinds of camouflage do these animals show? What have you learned about animal camouflage?
Editor's Notes
- #2 Note: There are many different ways to categorize camouflage. This presentation is meant to be a simple classroom introduction to encourage students to learn more.
- #11 Ghost crabs are a favorite food of sea gulls. Their coloring helps them to avoid being eaten.
- #23 Scientists used to think that only the monarch was poisonous. However, further research has shown that both butterflies are toxic, to varying degrees.
- #29 Photo from Wikimedia Commons
- #30 Photo:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magellanic-penguin02.jpg
- #31 Photo:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penguinsjumping.jpg
- #38 Emily Kissner 2015 All photos by the author unless otherwise noted For classroom use only