Contrary to popular opinion, stripes do not help zebras evade predators and in fact, the distinctive pattern may make the animals easier, rather than harder, to catch, according to a new study.
The research suggests that stripes may not offer the 'motion dazzle' protection thought to have evolved in animals such as zebra and used as ship camouflage during both World Wars.
In the study, humans playing a computer game captured striped targets more easily than uniform grey targets when multiple targets were present. The finding runs counter to assumptions that stripes evolved to make it difficult to capture animals moving in a group, such as zebra.
"We found that when targets are presented individually, horizontally striped targets are more easily captured than targets with vertical or diagonal stripes," said Anna Hughes, a researcher in the Sensory Evolution and Ecology group at the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology.
"Surprisingly, we also found no benefit of stripes when multiple targets were presented at once, despite the prediction that stripes should be particularly effective in a group scenario," Hughes said.
Stripes, zigzags and high contrast markings make animals highly conspicuous, which one might think would make them more visible to a predator. Researchers have wondered if movement is important in explaining why these patterns have evolved. Striking patterns may confuse predators and reduce the chance of attack or capture. In a concept termed 'motion dazzle', where high contrast patterns cause predators to misperceive the speed and direction of the moving animal.
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