This could suggest that the effects of stripes are not enhanced by increased group size. Surprisingly, however, we found that all striped targets, regardless of orientation, were easier to capture than a comparison grey target when the number of targets present was increased. It’s not clear why this should be the case yet, but it perhaps reflects the ability of humans to detect motion in multiple ways, with different mechanisms being activated more or less strongly for different orientations of stripes. Targets with stripes oriented parallel to the direction of travel were easier to catch than those with stripes oriented opposite to the direction of motion. Our research found that there was an effect of stripe orientation when subjects were trying to catch individual targets. We used a similar capture based computer game to previous studies to ask these questions. It is easy to imagine that stripes might be especially confusing and difficult to track in a large group. Secondly, we wanted to know whether the effect of stripes might interact with the number of targets present. Firstly, we wanted to know if the effect depends upon the orientation of the stripes. In the current study, we wanted to ask a couple of new questions about motion dazzle. …it seems that striped targets are harder to catch than a range of other pattern types. In these situations, it seems that striped targets are harder to catch than a range of other pattern types. However, several studies have shown slight benefits for striped targets in computer games where human participants have to attempt to ‘catch’ moving targets by touching them with their finger. Until recently, there was little scientific evidence for motion dazzle effects. Interestingly, humans have also used these types of patterns to attempt to make military ships more difficult to track. This may help to explain the evolution of not only the zebra’s patterns, but also other highly conspicuous geometric patterning seen in species such as snakes and fish. It has been suggested that striking patterns, such as stripes and zigzags, may confuse speed and direction perception, in what has been termed ‘motion dazzle’. My research focuses on yet another hypothesis: that the stripes may benefit the zebra while it is moving, by making it difficult to track accurately and thus less likely to be captured by predators. Another idea is that the stripes may help the animal to keep cool. Other researchers have proposed that the stripes in some way repel tsetse flies, a common blood sucking pest of zebra. One suggestion is that the stripes may break up the animal’s outline, making it difficult to identify an individual zebra, particularly in a herd. ![]() Surprisingly, the answer to this age-old question is still not known, although there have been many theories. ![]() Pixabay How did the zebra get its stripes?
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