Does “Protective Coloration” Protect?—Results of Some Experiments with Fishes and Birds

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Abstract
Fishes (Gambusia patruelis) which had been kept for some weeks in black and in white aquaria, and had thus acquired pronounced differences of shade which lasted some days, were introduced, in equal numbers, into a single large tank (black or pale gray, depending upon the experiment), and subjected to the attacks of a penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus). Of 576 fishes in the "pale" tank, 270 were consumed; 61% had had a "black" history, 38% a "white" history, and 1% were unidentifiable. Of the 470 in the black tank 271 were consumed; 27% were "blacks" and 73% were "whites." Evidently fishea which harmonize in shade with their immediate surroundings are less likely to be eaten by birds (or at least by certain birds) than fishes of the same species which do not so harmonize.

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