Data from: Phenotype-environment matching in sand fleas

Camouflage is perhaps the most widespread anti-predator strategy in nature, found in numerous animal groups. A long-standing prediction is that individuals should have camouflage tuned to the visual backgrounds where they live. However, while several studies have demonstrated phenotype–environment associations, few have directly shown that this confers an improvement in camouflage, particularly with respect to predator vision. Here, we show that an intertidal crustacean, the sand flea (Hippa testudinaria), has coloration tuned to the different substrates on which it occurs when viewed by potential avian predators. Individual sand fleas from a small, oceanic island (Ascension) matched the colour and luminance of their own beaches more closely than neighbouring beaches to a model of avian vision. Based on past work, this phenotype–environment matching is likely to be driven through ontogenetic changes rather than genetic adaptation. Our work provides some of the first direct evidence that animal coloration is tuned to provide camouflage to prospective predators against a range of visual backgrounds, in a population of animals occurring over a small geographical range.

伪装（Camouflage）或许是自然界中分布最广泛的反捕食策略，广泛存在于众多动物类群中。学界长期以来的一项核心预测指出，生物个体的伪装应适配其所处生境的视觉背景。然而，尽管已有多项研究证实了表型-环境关联，但极少有研究直接证明这种关联能够切实提升伪装效果，尤其是从捕食者视觉的视角出发。本研究表明，一种潮间带甲壳类动物——沙蚤（Hippa testudinaria）的体色会适配其栖息的不同基底，这一点在潜在鸟类捕食者的视觉模型下尤为显著。基于鸟类视觉模型的分析显示，来自小型远洋岛屿阿森松岛（Ascension）的沙蚤个体，与其邻近海滩的基底相比，更匹配其自身栖息海滩的颜色与亮度。结合既往研究成果，这种表型-环境匹配现象大概率由个体发育变化驱动，而非遗传适应。本研究提供了首批直接证据之一，证明在地理分布范围狭小的动物种群中，动物体色可被调控以适配多种视觉背景，从而在各类视觉背景下借助伪装躲避潜在捕食者。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集研究了沙蚤（Hippa testudinaria）的伪装颜色如何与其栖息地背景相匹配，以适应鸟类捕食者的视觉系统，体现了表型-环境匹配现象。数据来自一个小型海洋岛屿（阿森松岛），包含沙蚤和基质的测量信息，可能通过个体发育变化而非遗传适应驱动。数据集以Excel文件形式提供，主题涉及伪装、颜色和生态适应。