The color of the shell changes color to the body

Tiny green shells change color to avoid swallowing by birds of prey. From blue, they change to a darker color.

Scientists have long wondered about the ability of the palm to change the color of the skin. " When you catch them, they immediately turn gray ," said Dr. Jochen Zeil at the Australian National University.

(Photo: ABC Online, VNE) To find the answer, Zeil and his colleagues looked at the Uca vomeris species that live on mudflats on the northeast coast of Australia. " In one place, these birds look very dark, they are colorful," Zeil said. "We want to find out why this is happening ."

The researchers studied the changes of the birds in 3 different areas, where they were gray, showy and mixed. They found a lot of bird-eating birds near the gray area. " Where the birds look colorful, there are fewer birds of prey, " Zeil said.

To verify, the team set up an experiment to see if the birds change the color of the shell in the face of threats.

They gave two colorful birds living side by side and blocked their wings with a wooden board. A child who has a normal life continues. The other is always threatened by the appearance of a bird of prey, which is actually a black sponge. The crabs look very poor, so the appearance of a black ball also makes them believe that the predator is coming.

Within a few days, the crab was threatened to change its color to a duller gray, while the other crab was still as colorful.

The next step is to find out whether keeping the dull gray color will affect the relationship with their surroundings.

MT