Scientific Publications
I have been fortunate enough to have had my illustrations in a few books and academic papers. The topics of these have included animal coloration.. Take a look at my publications linked below.
If you would be interested in discussing personalised artwork for your publication, I would love to hear from you. Please reach out to me using my contact form.
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On the Evolution of Distinctive Natal Coat Coloration in Primates
Caro, Tim, et al. “On the Evolution of Distinctive Natal Coat Coloration in Primates.” American Journal of Biological Anthropology, vol. 177, no. 3, 2022, pp. 530–539., https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24468.
Why are so many primate newborns coloured differently from adults for their first weeks of life? This paper argues that rather than to induce allomothering or to confuse paternity, these neonate-specific colourations are adaptations to protect against infanticide, (a practice common across many primate species), by communicating to the mother to frontend resource investment in the infant to quickly get it through its most vulnerable period of life.
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The Evolution of Primate Coloration Revisited
Caro, Tim, et al. “The Evolution of Primate Coloration Revisited.” Behavioral Ecology, vol. 32, no. 4, 2021, pp. 555–567., https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab029.
This large invited review explores the diverse reasons for the varied colourations of primates. These range from camouflage and aposematism to the advertisement of sexual receptivity. Other findings include diurnal primates being more colorful than nocturnal ones, darker species living in warmer more humid conditions (Gloger’s rule), and the possibility that diverse colouration is negatively associated with female trichromatic vision.
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Aposematism and Mimicry in Birds
Hedley, Esme, and Tim Caro. “Aposematism and Mimicry in Birds.” Ibis, vol. 164, no. 2, 2021, pp. 606–617., https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13025.
This paper is a literature review looking at how birds use coloration patterns to ward off predators. It draws upon examples of aposemitry as an advertisement of distastefulness as well as competitive mimicry.
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Howell, Natasha, et al. “Aposematism in Mammals.” Evolution, vol. 75, no. 10, 2021, pp. 2480–2493., https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14320.
This paper examines the various reasons why some mammalian species such as skunks, badgers, and pandas are black and white. If focus on the ways that black and white coloration is used to signal to potential predators that an attack may be dangerous and/or poisonous.