Mary Caswell Stoddard
YOU?
Author Swipe
View article: Hidden white and black feather layers enhance plumage coloration in tanagers and other songbirds
Hidden white and black feather layers enhance plumage coloration in tanagers and other songbirds Open
Birds are renowned for their diverse and colorful plumage. Here, we demonstrate that vibrant plumage in the tanager genus Tangara is substantially intensified by a “hidden” layer of achromatic (white or black) plumage concealed beneath the…
View article: Emerging frontiers in visual ecology
Emerging frontiers in visual ecology Open
Visual ecology, the study of how animals acquire and respond to visual information in nature, has grown rapidly over the past few decades. Research in this field has transformed our understanding of fundamental processes, such as the neuro…
View article: Hyperspectral imaging in animal coloration research: A user-friendly pipeline for image generation, analysis, and integration with 3D modeling
Hyperspectral imaging in animal coloration research: A user-friendly pipeline for image generation, analysis, and integration with 3D modeling Open
Hyperspectral imaging—a technique that combines the high spectral resolution of spectrophotometry with the high spatial resolution of photography—holds great promise for the study of animal coloration. However, applications of hyperspectra…
View article: On metallic luster and iridescence in animal coloration
On metallic luster and iridescence in animal coloration Open
Some structural colors in nature are frequently described as metallic. For example, hummingbird plumage, jewel beetles and Morpho butterflies have this attribute. While much attention has been paid to describing the often-shifting hues of …
View article: Repeatable randomness, invariant properties, and the design of biological signatures of identity
Repeatable randomness, invariant properties, and the design of biological signatures of identity Open
What makes a perfect signature? Optimal signatures should be consistent within individuals and distinctive between individuals. In defense against avian brood parasitism, some host species have evolved “signatures” of identity on their egg…
View article: Evolution of nest architecture in tyrant flycatchers and allies
Evolution of nest architecture in tyrant flycatchers and allies Open
Innovations in nest design are thought to be one potential factor in the evolutionary success of passerine birds (order: Passeriformes), which colonized new ecological niches as they diversified in the Oligocene and Miocene. In particular,…
View article: The evolutionary ecology of nests: a cross-taxon approach
The evolutionary ecology of nests: a cross-taxon approach Open
Nests, including the enormous structures housing colonies of eusocial insects and the elaborately built nests of some fishes, have long fascinated scientists, yet our understanding of the evolutionary ecology of nests has lagged behind our…
View article: Common cuckoos do not mimic the size and shape of host eggs
Common cuckoos do not mimic the size and shape of host eggs Open
Often considered a textbook example of coevolution, common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) eggs are among the best-studied eggs in the world. Female cuckoos belong to genetically distinct host-races, each laying a specific egg type. When host spe…
View article: Data and code for: Woodpeckers are more cryptic against tree bark on which they forage
Data and code for: Woodpeckers are more cryptic against tree bark on which they forage Open
Contains data and code for running the analyses in the manuscript entitled: Woodpeckers are more cryptic against tree bark on which they forage.
View article: A hypothesis for robust polarization vision: an example from the Australian imperial blue butterfly,<i>Jalmenus evagoras</i>
A hypothesis for robust polarization vision: an example from the Australian imperial blue butterfly,<i>Jalmenus evagoras</i> Open
The Australian lycaenid butterfly Jalmenus evagoras has iridescent wings that are sexually dimorphic, spectrally and in their degree of polarization, suggesting that these properties are likely to be important in mate recognition. We first…
View article: Bird eggs
Bird eggs Open
I once spent a summer studying gulls on Appledore Island in the Gulf of Maine, off the east coast of the United States. The rocky island is a breeding colony for herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and great black-backed gulls (Larus marinus)…
View article: Color in motion: Generating 3-dimensional multispectral models to study dynamic visual signals in animals
Color in motion: Generating 3-dimensional multispectral models to study dynamic visual signals in animals Open
Analyzing color and pattern in the context of motion is a central and ongoing challenge in the quantification of animal coloration. Many animal signals are spatially and temporally variable, but traditional methods fail to capture this dyn…
View article: Evolution of brilliant iridescent feather nanostructures
Evolution of brilliant iridescent feather nanostructures Open
The brilliant iridescent plumage of birds creates some of the most stunning color displays known in the natural world. Iridescent plumage colors are produced by nanostructures in feathers and have evolved in diverse birds. The building blo…
View article: Evolution of brilliant iridescent feather nanostructures
Evolution of brilliant iridescent feather nanostructures Open
The brilliant iridescent plumage of birds creates some of the most stunning color displays known in the natural world. Iridescent plumage colors are produced by nanostructures in feathers and have evolved in a wide variety of birds. The bu…
View article: How Signaling Geometry Shapes the Efficacy and Evolution of Animal Communication Systems
How Signaling Geometry Shapes the Efficacy and Evolution of Animal Communication Systems Open
Synopsis Animal communication is inherently spatial. Both signal transmission and signal reception have spatial biases—involving direction, distance, and position—that interact to determine signaling efficacy. Signals, be they visual, acou…
View article: Avian Coloration Genetics: Recent Advances and Emerging Questions
Avian Coloration Genetics: Recent Advances and Emerging Questions Open
The colorful phenotypes of birds have long provided rich source material for evolutionary biologists. Avian plumage, beaks, skin, and eggs—which exhibit a stunning range of cryptic and conspicuous forms—inspired early work on adaptive colo…
View article: Wild hummingbirds discriminate nonspectral colors
Wild hummingbirds discriminate nonspectral colors Open
Many animals have the potential to discriminate nonspectral colors. For humans, purple is the clearest example of a nonspectral color. It is perceived when two color cone types in the retina (blue and red) with nonadjacent spectral sensiti…
View article: Automatic Crack Detection and Analysis for Biological Cellular Materials in X-Ray In Situ Tomography Measurements
Automatic Crack Detection and Analysis for Biological Cellular Materials in X-Ray In Situ Tomography Measurements Open
We introduce a novel methodology, based on in situ X-ray tomography measurements, to quantify and analyze 3D crack morphologies in biological cellular materials during damage process. Damage characterization in cellular materials is challe…
View article: Evolution of avian egg shape: underlying mechanisms and the importance of taxonomic scale
Evolution of avian egg shape: underlying mechanisms and the importance of taxonomic scale Open
Diversity in the shapes of avian eggs has intrigued biologists for centuries, and recent studies at a range of taxonomic scales suggest that egg shape can be a powerful lens through which to view morphological adaptation. At a broad taxono…
View article: Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs
Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs Open
Despite a recent explosion of research on pattern recognition, in both neuroscience and computer vision, we lack a basic understanding of how most animals perceive and respond to patterns in the wild. Avian brood parasites and their hosts …
View article: Supplementary material from "Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs"
Supplementary material from "Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs" Open
Despite a recent explosion of research on pattern recognition, in both neuroscience and computer vision, we lack a basic understanding of how most animals perceive and respond to patterns in the wild. Avian brood parasites and their hosts …
View article: Excel spreadsheet with supplemental data from Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs
Excel spreadsheet with supplemental data from Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs Open
Despite a recent explosion of research on pattern recognition, in both neuroscience and computer vision, we lack a basic understanding of how most animals perceive and respond to patterns in the wild. Avian brood parasites and their hosts …
View article: I see your false colours: how artificial stimuli appear to different animal viewers
I see your false colours: how artificial stimuli appear to different animal viewers Open
The use of artificially coloured stimuli, especially to test hypotheses about sexual selection and anti-predator defence, has been common in behavioural ecology since the pioneering work of Tinbergen. To investigate the effects of colour o…
View article: Synchronization of speed, sound and iridescent color in a hummingbird aerial courtship dive
Synchronization of speed, sound and iridescent color in a hummingbird aerial courtship dive Open
Many animal signals are complex, often combining multimodal components with dynamic motion. To understand the function and evolution of these displays, it is vital to appreciate their spatiotemporal organization. Male broad-tailed hummingb…
View article: Electronic Supplementary Data: Reflectance spectra for untreated (control) and artificially colored feathers from I see your false colours: how artificial stimuli appear to different animal viewers
Electronic Supplementary Data: Reflectance spectra for untreated (control) and artificially colored feathers from I see your false colours: how artificial stimuli appear to different animal viewers Open
The use of artificially coloured stimuli, especially to test hypotheses about sexual selection and anti-predator defence, has been common in behavioural ecology since the pioneering work of Tinbergen. To investigate the effects of colour o…
View article: Supplementary material from "I see your false colours: how artificial stimuli appear to different animal viewers"
Supplementary material from "I see your false colours: how artificial stimuli appear to different animal viewers" Open
The use of artificially coloured stimuli, especially to test hypotheses about sexual selection and anti-predator defence, has been common in behavioural ecology since the pioneering work of Tinbergen. To investigate the effects of colour o…