Why zebra has stripes: new evidence supports a particular theory

More and more close to revealing the mystery: zebra stripes have a reason to be. The unique feature of these animals again attracted the attention of a group of researchers who decided to conduct a series of tests to determine why they were of these colors.

The study, which has endorsed the universities of Bristol and California, was published in the scientific journal Plos One. the question "confusing".

The evolution of the two-color zebra layer intrigues scientists for more than 150 years. Since then, Many theories have been proposed, which include avoiding predators, better heat regulation and social function, but there is no agreement among scientists.

However, the evidence that this latest study has shown has led to other conclusions. Professor Tim Caro, Dr. Martin How and his colleagues investigated the behaviors of the flies tabida around zebras and domestic horses in a barn in North Somerset. For this, they used video badysis techniques.

Professor Tim Caro, an honorary researcher at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, said: "Flies seem to fly over the streaks or hit them, but that did not happen with the horses. "

Martin How, a researcher at the Royal Society University at the Faculty of Biological Sciences, added: "This reduced ability to landr in the zebra coat can be because scratches interrupt the visual system of flies in their last moments of approach. "Bands can dazzle flies in one way or another if they are close enough to see them with low resolution eyes," he added.

Not satisfied with the badysis of the videos, the researchers conducted a second experiment: they observed the behavior of the fly around them. horses "disguised" with cloth coats of different colors: black, white or zebra stripes. This excludes any difference in behavior or smell between horses and zebras. As before, when horses wore striped coats, the number of fly landings was less important than when they wore coats of a single color.

In conclusion, the study considered that the main objective of zebra stripes is to avoid the parasites that suck the blood: They serve as an obstacle so that they do not rest on the skin.