The motion dazzle hypothesis posits that high contrast geometric patterns can cause difficulties in tracking a moving target and has been argued to explain the patterning of animals such as zebras. Research to date has only tested a small number of patterns, offering equivocal support for the hypothesis. Here, we take a genetic programming approach to allow patterns to evolve based on their fitness (time taken to capture) and thus find the optimal strategy for providing protection when moving. Our ‘Dazzle Bug’ citizen science game tested over 1.5 million targets in a touch screen game at a popular visitor attraction. Surprisingly, we found that targets lost pattern elements during evolution and became closely background matching. Modelling results suggested that targets with lower motion energy were harder to catch. Our results indicate that low contrast, featureless targets offer the greatest protection against capture when in motion, challenging the motion dazzle hypothesis.

中文翻译：

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大型公民科学游戏中运动过程中模式的演变

运动眩光假说假定高对比度几何图案会导致跟踪移动目标的困难，并被认为可以解释斑马等动物的图案。迄今为止的研究仅测试了少数模式，为该假设提供了模棱两可的支持。在这里，我们采用遗传编程方法允许模式根据它们的适应度（捕获所需的时间）进化，从而找到在移动时提供保护的最佳策略。我们的“Dazzle Bug”公民科学游戏在一个受欢迎的旅游景点的触摸屏游戏中测试了超过 150 万个目标。令人惊讶的是，我们发现目标在进化过程中丢失了模式元素并变得紧密匹配。建模结果表明，运动能量较低的目标更难捕捉。