CamoEvo: An open access toolbox for artificial camouflage evolution experiments.

Autor: Hancock GRA; Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom., Troscianko J; Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Evolution; international journal of organic evolution [Evolution] 2022 May; Vol. 76 (5), pp. 870-882. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Mar 30.
DOI: 10.1111/evo.14476
Abstrakt: Camouflage research has long shaped our understanding of evolution by natural selection, and elucidating the mechanisms by which camouflage operates remains a key question in visual ecology. However, the vast diversity of color patterns found in animals and their backgrounds, combined with the scope for complex interactions with receiver vision, presents a fundamental challenge for investigating optimal camouflage strategies. Genetic algorithms (GAs) have provided a potential method for accounting for these interactions, but with limited accessibility. Here, we present CamoEvo, an open-access toolbox for investigating camouflage pattern optimization by using tailored GAs, animal and egg maculation theory, and artificial predation experiments. This system allows for camouflage evolution within the span of just 10-30 generations (∼1-2 min per generation), producing patterns that are both significantly harder to detect and that are optimized to their background. CamoEvo was built in ImageJ to allow for integration with an array of existing open access camouflage analysis tools. We provide guides for editing and adjusting the predation experiment and GA as well as an example experiment. The speed and flexibility of this toolbox makes it adaptable for a wide range of computer-based phenotype optimization experiments.
(© 2022 The Authors. Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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