Undergraduate Research: An Archive - 2021 Program

THESIS TITLE
Conspicuousness and
Crypsis in Woodpecker
Coloration
ADVISER
Mary (Cassie) Stoddard,
Assistant Professor of
Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology
Joe Kawalec ’21
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Certificate in Environmental Studies; Becky Colvin
’95 Memorial Award Recipient; Senior Thesis
Research Funding Awardee
Understanding how camouflage and warning
coloration is linked to species’ survival is
important for the conservation of biodiversity
and balances within ecosystems. Woodpeckers
exhibit a variety of natural patterning and
play significant ecological roles in their
environments. I examined if the coloration of
the downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)
functions as a warning coloration at close
distances by testing the responses of wild birds
to 3D-printed downy woodpecker models placed
in a feeder-choice experiment. I also investigated
if downy patterning serves as camouflage when
viewed from farther distances by conducting
a detection experiment in the woods. Finally, I
analyzed images of pied (black-and-white) and
plain black downy woodpecker models against
the background of tree barks to quantify the
impact of patterning on camouflage. While I
did not find significant evidence for a function
of warning coloration, I did find that the
patterning of downy woodpeckers may give
it increased camouflage through disruptive
coloration and luminance background matching.
These results suggest that downy woodpeckers
may use camouflage to avoid predation in
forested environments, which warrants further
investigation of their coloration.
BIODIVERSITY AND
CONSERVATION
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