Fontaine, J.J. and K.L. Decker. 2009. Exploring predation and animal coloration through outdoor activity. Science Activities 45:3-7.
Abstract
Although children often characterize animals by the animals' color or pattern, the children seldom understand the evolutionary and ecological factors that favor particular colors. In this article, we describe two activities that help students understand the distinct evolutionary strategies of warming coloration and camouflage. Because both of these strategies effectively allow prey animals to avoid predation, they can help explain considerable variation in animal coloration.