Predation pressure drives camouflage and mimicry inside the moss forest too

Evidence

The intensity of predation in the rain forest has led to many adaptations for camouflage and mimicry. There are moths that resemble dead leaves, snakes that mimic branches, and caterpillars disguised as bird droppings. So, too, in the moss forest, there are creatures disguised as bryophytes. In New Guinea, moss weevils carry about tiny gardens of moss on their backs, growing in special cavities on their shells. The larvae of some craneflies are a mossy green color, marked with dark lines to hide among the leaves. They move sluggishly through the moss mat, further concealing their presence by lethargy. This same approach to predator avoidance is used by the tree sloth in the jungle, coated with algae and moving so slowly that it becomes nearly invisible in the canopy. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss, 263

Categorization

• CANDY: Moss weevils literally grow gardens of moss on their backs as camouflage — a perfect small wonder fact.
• XREF: The framing of a ‘moss forest’ as a miniature replication of the rain forest’s economy supports this whole book’s core move of scaling observation down, which is the polyad’s method thread. — connects to: Ecological rules asserting themselves across scale reveal hidden order uniting all living systems — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural…, 358; Identical species populations can differ behaviorally due to local predator pressure — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 673; Early insect evolution likely unfolded inside moist moss mats on land — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural…, 260 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Predation on a new background drove rapid genetic color evolution in mice #exemplifies (0.95)
• Predator pressure shapes prey behavior as much as prey appearance. #expands (0.90) — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 44
• Camouflage rather than weaponry is a primary defense strategy against predators #corroborates (0.85)
• A single camouflage pattern fails because habitats demand multiple colors #complicates (0.72)