ABSTRACT Although snakes play key roles in the functioning of various ecosystems, they have been among the most persecuted groups of animals. To enhance conservation efforts, we employed research on perceptions about snakes differing in body coloration. We investigated the bright coloration hypothesis, which suggests that bright (aposematic) coloration triggers fear in humans due to an evolved aversion for aposematic signals. The sample was 77 Slovak preschool children. The detection times for aposematically and cryptically colored snakes were similar. The only exception was that aposematically colored snakes were detected quicker among cryptic non-snake animals than among aposematic non-snake animals. These results provide mixed support for the bright coloration hypothesis. This suggests that snakes, unlike non-snake animals, capture visual attention irrespective of their color, which can be utilized in selection of flagship species to increase conservation efforts.

中文翻译：

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蛇的颜色不会影响孩子的检测时间

摘要 虽然蛇在各种生态系统的功能中发挥着关键作用，但它们一直是受迫害最严重的动物群体之一。为了加强保护工作，我们对身体颜色不同的蛇的看法进行了研究。我们研究了亮色假说，这表明由于对 aposematic 信号的进化厌恶，明亮（aposematic）着色会引发人类的恐惧。样本是 77 名斯洛伐克学龄前儿童。隐喻和神秘颜色的蛇的检测时间相似。唯一的例外是隐匿的非蛇类动物比隐匿的非蛇类动物更快地检测到隐匿色的蛇。这些结果为亮色假说提供了混合支持。这表明蛇与非蛇类动物不同，