Read the text on Worksheet 1 with the students. Explain to them that you will need them to work individually by reading and finding one type of camouflage, depending on the number assigned. Group the children in groups of 3 and give each child a number between 1 to 3. This activity introduces lesson vocabulary, such as stripes, spots, patches, shapes, and patterns.ĭistribute a copy of Worksheet 1 to every child. You can either use photos or show computer images. We are also going to match camouflaging animals and what helps them camouflage.Īsk the students to name some animals that camouflage.
In today's lesson, we will identify and describe animal camouflage. On a green leaf, the chameleon turns green.Įxplain that we use the word "camouflage" to describe animals' ability to hide or disguise themselves from prey or predators.Įxplain that camouflage enables animals to get food and avoid being attacked and that camouflaging is very important for the survival of animals in different habitats. Introduce the idea of camouflage using riddle sentences.įor example, Polar bears are white, and snow is white. Optional: Photos, precut, or computer images of camouflaged animals (can be cut from Worksheet 2) Worksheet 2: Worksheet containing animal camouflage (Distribute a copy to each child). Worksheet 1 (Distribute a copy to every child) Lesson Objective: Students will choose a camouflaged animal and try to match it to what enables them to camouflage.Ĭommon Core Standard(s): .2.1- Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
CAMOUFLAGE ANIMALS HOW TO
Understanding camouflage can help make more accurate prediction models for several species that may be threatened by climate change, helping researchers to better understand how to help the species better survive. For other scientists, these patterns, like the camouflage patterns, are also important as they can help predict animal genetics and behavior, especially if the species moves locations. These mathematical models may give scientists valuable information about how these patterns occur in different animals. From the perfect swirl of a snail shell to the petal placement of a flower, researchers have shown that nature illustrates perfect mathematical models. These patterns are generated by a complex system that yet can be simplified as a single equation where what matters is not the precise location of the green and black scales, but the general appearance of the final patterns.” Outlook: Do other Camouflage Patterns have Math?Īs studies have shown, quite a few patterns in nature can be described using math. According to the University of Geneva Professor Michel Milinkowitch: “These labyrinthine patterns, which provide ocellated lizards with an optimal camouflage, have been selected in the course of evolution. Similarly, the lizards prefer their scales to be either green or black. Within the Lenz-Ising model, all ions prefer to be in the same state, either +1 or -1. The model is usually organized in a square lattice of ions, but the researchers shifted it to a hexagonal pattern to fit the lizard’s scale shape. The ions can be in either a +1 or-1 state and interact with their closest neighbors. This mathematical model, developed in the 1920s, was created to describe the behavior of magnetic ions. In digging around, the scientists found the Lenz-Ising mathematical model to properly describe the lizards’ camouflage pattern. Because of this, the researchers wondered if there was a simple mathematical model that caused this camouflage pattern.
Published in Physical Review Letters, the researchers reported that the color change on the ocellated lizards’ scales varied depending on the colors of neighboring lizards.
Ocellated lizards mainly feed on larger insects, like beetles, and snails. They can change their scale colors from green to black as they age, creating a labyrinthine pattern. These spiny green lizards are endemic to southwestern Europe. In order to better understand camouflage patterns, the researchers at the University of Geneva used ocellated lizards as their test subjects. Background: Behaviors of Ocellated lizards While there are many different types of camouflage, a new study from the University of Geneva suggests that one thing they may have in common involves how camouflage patterns may all be inherently mathematical. Still, the processes behind some types of camouflage remain elusive to scientists. Over the centuries, humans have also tried their hand at employing the camouflage process with some success. From resembling leaves and vegetation, to possessing colors that blend in with a variety of natural backgrounds, animals use many different types of camouflage to avoid predators. The science of animal camouflage has fascinated humans since antiquity.
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