Evaluation of the effectiveness of cryptic coloration of the Carolina anole’s skin

Abstract

Cryptic coloration of animals’ integument is one of the effective adaptations that allow them to lead an active lifestyle while being protected from natural enemies due to visual disguise. This is achieved by the similarity of body color of a particular individual to the background of various substrates in its environment. The morphological and functional basis of cryptic coloration in vertebrates, including reptiles, is ensured by the skin pigmentation. Using bioinformatic methods, we calculated the skin camouflage index of the Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis Voigt, 1832) in various conditions of its habitat. The skin camouflage index (Ic) is the ratio of the sum of the average values of rgb coordinates of the skin color to the sum of the average values of rgb coordinates of the color of the external substrate. Ic satisfies the effective level of adaptation to habitat conditions if it falls within the range of 0.80–1.20. It has been shown that rgbvalues of the dominant color of the dorsal skin of green anoles slightly differ from the similar parameters characteristic of the deciduous habitat, which is reflected by Ic of its skin (0.94). In the brown anoles on a background of woody substrate, the Ic value of its skin (0.88) is also optimal, since it exceeds the lower limit (0.80), which indicates close values of the sums of the rgb coordinates of the skin color and the color of the external background. In the mixed green-brown anoles, the deciduous habitat is preferable to the woody one. In the first case, Ic (1.11) is in the optimum zone, and in the second case, Ic (0.70) goes beyond the lower limit of the optimum, which indicates a greater vulnerability of the animal to external threats. We have confirmed the relativity of visual hiding of the skin that is effective only in the habitat conditions in which the camouflage abilities of the skin manifest as fully as possible.