Abstract：
Camouflage expressed by animals is an adaptation to local environments that certain animals express to maximize survival and fitness. Animals at higher latitudes change their coat color according to a seasonally changing environment, expressing a white coat in winter and a darker coat in summer. The timing of molting is tightly linked to the appearance and disappearance of snow and is mainly regulated by photoperiod. However, due to climate change, an increasing mismatch is observed between the coat color of these species and their environment. Here, we conducted an experiment in northern Sweden, with white and brown decoys to study how camouflage (mis)-match influenced (1) predator attraction to decoys, and (2) predation events. Using camera trap data, we showed that mismatching decoys attracted more predators and experienced a higher likelihood of predation events in comparison to matching decoys, suggesting that camouflage mismatched animals experience increased detection by predators. These results provide insight into the function of a seasonal color coat and the need for this adaptation to maximize fitness in an environment that is exposed to high seasonality. Thus, our results suggest that, with increasing climate change and reduced snow cover, animals expressing a seasonal color coat will experience a decrease in survival.
摘要：
动物表达的伪装是对某些动物表达的局部环境的适应，以最大化生存和健身。高纬度的动物会根据季节变化的环境改变它们的外衣颜色，冬天穿白色外套，夏天穿深色外套。蜕皮的时间与雪的出现和消失密切相关，主要受光周期的调节。然而,由于气候变化,在这些物种的皮毛颜色与环境之间观察到越来越多的不匹配。这里,我们在瑞典北部做了一个实验,用白色和棕色的诱饵来研究伪装(mis)-匹配如何影响(1)捕食者对诱饵的吸引力，（2）捕食事件。使用相机陷阱数据，我们表明，与匹配的诱饵相比，不匹配的诱饵吸引了更多的捕食者，并且发生捕食事件的可能性更高，这表明伪装不匹配的动物会受到捕食者的检测。这些结果提供了对季节性彩色外套的功能以及对这种适应的需求的深入了解，以最大程度地适应暴露于高季节性的环境。因此，我们的结果表明，随着气候变化的加剧和积雪的减少，表现出季节性颜色外衣的动物将经历存活率下降。
