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dc.contributor.authorWalton, OC
dc.contributor.authorStevens, M
dc.date.accessioned2018-08-15T07:51:42Z
dc.date.issued2018-08-17
dc.description.abstractAnimal defensive coloration has long provided many important examples of evolution and adaptation. Of these, industrial melanism in the peppered moth is the classic textbook example of evolution in action, whereby dark and pale morphs suffer differential predation in polluted and unpolluted woodland based on their camouflage. Despite extensive work, a striking gap remains in that no study has ever objectively quantified their camouflage or related this directly to predation risk. Here, we use image analysis and avian vision models to show that pale individuals more closely match lichen backgrounds than dark morphs. Artificial predation experiments in unpolluted woodland show 21% higher survival rates of pale than melanic individuals. Overall, we provide the strongest direct evidence to date that peppered moth morph frequencies stem from differential camouflage and avian predation, providing key support for this iconic example of natural selection.en_GB
dc.description.sponsorshipWe thank Rhian Rowson at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Holly Morgenroth at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery Exeter Ark and James Hogan at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History for allowing access to their museum’s peppered moth collections for photography. We also thank Jolyon Troscianko for providing assistance with printer calibration, Molly Rogers for assisting with museum specimen photography, and Emmanuelle Briolat for advice. The work was supported by a BBSRC grant (BB/L017709/1) to MS.en_GB
dc.identifier.citationVol. 1, article 118en_GB
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s42003-018-0126-3
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10871/33742
dc.language.isoenen_GB
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen_GB
dc.rights© 2018 the Author(s). Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.titleAvian vision models and field experiments determine the survival value of peppered moth camouflageen_GB
dc.typeArticleen_GB
dc.identifier.issn2399-3642
dc.descriptionThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this recorden_GB
dc.identifier.journalCommunications Biologyen_GB
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/


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© 2018 the Author(s). Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2018 the Author(s). Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/