Antipredator adaptations in the form of animal coloration are common and often multifunctional. European vipers (genus Vipera) have a characteristic dorsal zigzag pattern, which has been shown to serve as a warning signal to potential predators. At the same time, it has been suggested to decrease detection risk, and to cause a motion dazzle or flicker–fusion effect during movement. We tested these hypotheses by asking whether (1) the zigzag pattern decreases detection risk and (2) the detection is dependent on the base coloration (grey or brown) or the snake's posture (coiled, basking form or S-shaped, active form). Additionally, (3) we measured the fleeing speed of adders, Vipera berus, and calculated the flicker rate of the zigzag pattern, to see whether it is fast enough to cause a flicker–fusion effect against predators. Our results show that the zigzag pattern reduced detectability regardless of base coloration or posture of the snake. The brown zigzag morph was detected less often than the grey zigzag morph. The fleeing speed of adders appeared to be fast enough to induce a flicker–fusion effect for mammalian predators. However, it is unlikely to be fast enough to induce the flicker–fusion effect for raptors. Our findings highlight that the colour pattern of animals can be multifunctional. The same colour pattern that can decrease detection by predators can also serve as a warning function once detected, and potentially hinder capture during an attack.

中文翻译：

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整个捕食过程中欧洲毒蛇的保护色

以动物着色形式出现的反捕食者适应性很常见，而且通常是多功能的。欧洲毒蛇（蝰蛇属）具有特征性的背部锯齿形图案，已被证明可以作为潜在捕食者的警告信号。同时，有人建议降低检测风险，并在运动过程中引起运动眩光或闪烁融合效果。我们通过询问是否 (1) 之字形图案降低检测风险和 (2) 检测取决于基础颜色（灰色或棕色）或蛇的姿势（盘绕、晒太阳形式或 S 形、活动形式）来测试这些假设. 此外，（3）我们测量了加法器 Vipera berus 的逃跑速度，并计算了锯齿形图案的闪烁率，以查看它是否足够快以对捕食者产生闪烁融合效应。我们的结果表明，无论蛇的基础颜色或姿势如何，锯齿形图案都会降低可检测性。棕色锯齿形变形的检测频率低于灰色锯齿形变形。加法器的逃跑速度似乎快到足以对哺乳动物捕食者产生闪烁融合效应。然而，它不太可能足够快以引起猛禽的闪烁融合效应。我们的研究结果强调，动物的颜色模式可以是多功能的。可以减少捕食者发现的相同颜色图案也可以在检测到后用作警告功能，并可能在攻击期间阻碍捕获。加法器的逃跑速度似乎快到足以对哺乳动物捕食者产生闪烁融合效应。然而，它不太可能足够快以引起猛禽的闪烁融合效应。我们的研究结果强调，动物的颜色模式可以是多功能的。可以减少捕食者发现的相同颜色图案也可以在检测到后用作警告功能，并可能在攻击期间阻碍捕获。加法器的逃跑速度似乎快到足以对哺乳动物捕食者产生闪烁融合效应。然而，它不太可能足够快以引起猛禽的闪烁融合效应。我们的研究结果强调，动物的颜色模式可以是多功能的。可以减少捕食者发现的相同颜色图案也可以在检测到后用作警告功能，并可能在攻击期间阻碍捕获。