Animal Coloration in the Anthropocene

Animal Coloration: Sexy Spider Scales

Many male jumping spiders display vibrant colors that are used in visual communication. A recent microscopic study on a jumping spider from Singapore shows that three-layered 'scale sandwiches' of chitin and air are responsible for producing their brilliant iridescent body coloration.

Towards an Animal Ethics for the Anthropocene 1

The complex problems of wildlife conservation during the current stage of the Anthropocene – the ‘Great Acceleration’ – are forcing us to develop an alternative to the traditional (utilitarian und deontological) approaches within animal ethics. I will put forward Martha Nussbaum’s capability approach as a promising alternative to these traditional approaches, with the proviso that the current v...

Paleolithic cave rock art, animal coloration, and specific animal habitats.

Animal coloration research: why it matters.

While basic research on animal coloration is the theme of this special edition, here we highlight its applied significance for industry, innovation and society. Both the nanophotonic structures producing stunning optical effects and the colour perception mechanisms in animals are extremely diverse, having been honed over millions of years of evolution for many different purposes. Consequently, ...

Automated Animal Coloration Quantification in Digital Images using Dominant Colors

i ABSTRACT The origin and function of color in animals has been a subject of great interest for taxonomists and ecologists in recent years. Coloration in animals is useful for many important functions like species identification, camouflage and understanding evolutionary relationships. Quantitative measurements of color signal and patch size in mammals, birds and reptiles, to name a few are str...