Potential defence from herbivory by ‘dazzle effects’ and ‘trickery coloration’ of leaf variegation

Abstract

The very conspicuous dazzle coloration invented for naval defence during World War I was used in pre-radar days to mislead attackers of naval units about vessel size, type, speed, and direction. Among several potential types of defences, it is proposed that zebra-like white leaf variegation may defend leaves and other plant organs from herbivory as a result of dazzle effects. Two different dazzle effects may be involved in defending plants from herbivory, making it hard for herbivores (1) to decide where, in a three-dimensional space, to bite the leaves (large herbivores) and (2) to land on them (insects). In addition, the related types of leaf coloration described in the present study, comprising parallels of military defensive trickery naval painting, may also deceive herbivores about the actual shape, location, and identity of leaves. Some of these visual defences may operate at the same time as other visual defences, such as aposematism, or serve various physiological functions. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 111, 692–697.