Publications

Publications

2026

• Hancock, G. R. A., Briolat, E., Hughes, A., Kelley, L.A. & Troscianko, J. (2026).

  Butterfly wing patterns in flight create powerful illusory motion cues — Nature

  

  Read the press release

• Hancock, G. R. A., Cuthill, I. C., & Troscianko, J. (2026).

  Shining a light on camouflage evolution: using genetic algorithms to determine the effects of geometry and lighting on optimal camouflage — PLoS One, 21(4), e0346231

  

  Read the press release

• Troscianko, J., O'Shea-Wheller, T. A., Galloway, J. A. M., & Gaston, K. J. (2026).

  BehaveAI enables rapid detection and classification of objects and behavior from motion — PLOS Biology, 24(2), e3003632

  

  This is a video analysis tool that can track individual animals and classify their behaviour from patterns of motion as well as their static appearance. It is super lightweight, meaning it can run in real-time on a RaspberryPI, a real game-changer in machine vision and behavioural ecology Project overview, Read the release post, GitHub download, User guide

• Briolat, E. S., Galloway, J. A. M., Cornelius, E., Wright, C. J., Bennie, J., Gaston, K. J., et al. (2026).

  Severe and widespread reductions in night-time activity of nocturnal moths under modern artificial lighting spectra — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 293

  

  This is the first paper to really show how light pollution might be harming moths by preventing them from being active. We tracked the activity of over 800 moths from 23 species under different intensities and spectra of artificial light. The headline is that there’s no safe spectrum or timing, all light suppresses moth activity (even sky-glow levels of amber LEDs). Read the press release

2025

• Hughes, A. E., Mari, L., Troscianko, J., Jelínek, V., Albrecht, T., & Šulc, M. (2025).

  A machine learning approach to facilitate parasitic egg identification in a conspecific brood parasite — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 292(2059), 20252085
• Medina, I., Exnerová, A., Daňková, K., Penacchio, O., Sherratt, T. N., Albrecht, T., et al. (2025).

  Global selection on insect antipredator coloration — Science, 389(6767), 1336-1341
• Major, T., Hesten, A. C. M., Stipala, J., Cant, M. A., Stevens, M., & Troscianko, J. (2025).

  Flap-necked chameleons change colour to match their background — Biology Letters, 21(8), 20250134

  

  Chameleons really can change colour to match their backgrounds, though only in some situations Read the press release

• Wainwright, J. B., Loupasaki, T., Ramírez, F., Penry-Williams, I. L., England, S. J., et al. (2025).

  Mutualisms within light microhabitats are associated with sensory convergence in a mimetic butterfly community — Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(29), e2422397122

  

  Read press release

• Zanghi, C., Troscianko, J., & Ioannou, C. C. (2025).

  Enhanced conspicuousness of prey in warmer water mitigates the constraint of turbidity for predators — Behavioral Ecology, 36(4), araf079
• Santon, M., Troscianko, J., Heatubun, C. D., & How, M. J. (2025).

  Stealth and deception: adaptive motion camouflage in hunting broadclub cuttlefish — Science Advances, 11(13), eadr3686

  

  Read the press release

• Troscianko, J. (2025).

  A hyperspectral open-source imager (HOSI) — BMC Biology, 23(1), 5

  

  Build your own open-source hyperspectral imager from 3D printed parts and off-the-shelf components Find out more

• Mari, L., Šulc, M., Szala, K., Troscianko, J., Eeva, T., & Ruuskanen, S. (2025).

  Heavy metal pollution exposure affects egg coloration but not male provisioning effort in the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca — Journal of Avian Biology, 2025(1), e03283

2024

• Fabusova, M., Gaston, K. J., & Troscianko, J. (2024).

  Pulsed artificial light at night alters moth flight behaviour — Biology Letters, 20(11), 20240403

  

  Harmful responses in moths to pulses of light simulating vehicle headlights are much more frequent with modern cool white LEDs Read the press release

• Briolat, E. S., Hancock, G. R. A., & Troscianko, J. (2024).

  Adapting genetic algorithms for artificial evolution of visual patterns under selection from wild predators — PLoS One, 19(5), e0295106

2023

• Kelley, J. L., Jessop, A. L., Kelley, L. A., & Troscianko, J. (2023).

  The role of pictorial cues and contrast for camouflage — Evolutionary Ecology, 37(6), 909-925
• Hancock, G. R. A., Grayshon, L., Burrell, R., Cuthill, I., Hoodless, A., & Troscianko, J. (2023).

  Habitat geometry rather than visual acuity limits the visibility of a ground-nesting bird's clutch to terrestrial predators — Ecology and Evolution, 13(9), e10471

  

  Subtle variation in 3D habitat geometry make lapwing nests nearly invisible to terrestrial predators from a distance. Read the press release

• Troscianko, J. (2023).

  OSpRad: an open-source, low-cost, high-sensitivity spectroradiometer — Journal of Experimental Biology, 226(13), jeb245416

  

  Build your own high-sensitivity spectroradiometer from 3D printed parts and off-the-shelf components Find out more

• Troscianko, J., & Osorio, D. (2023).

  A model of colour appearance based on efficient coding of natural images — PLOS Computational Biology, 19(6), e1011117

  

  Our new colour appearance model - built on efficient coding of natural scenes - explains a huge range of lightness and chromatic illusions. Read the press release

• Bullough, K., Gaston, K. J., & Troscianko, J. (2023).

  Artificial light at night causes conflicting behavioural and morphological defence responses in a marine isopod — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290(2000), 20230725

  

  This study reveals how diffuse light pollution (e.g. sky-glow) caused a colour-chaning marine isopod to become more pale-coloured, while also causing them to seek out darker substrates. This mis-match could make them more vulnerable to predation See the press release.

• Dixit, T., Choi, G. P. T., Al-Mosleh, S., Lund, J., Troscianko, J., Moya, C., et al. (2023).

  Combined measures of mimetic fidelity explain imperfect mimicry in a brood parasite–host system — Biology Letters, 19(2), 20220538
• Jolkkonen, J., Gaston, K. J., & Troscianko, J. (2023).

  Artificial lighting affects the landscape of fear in a widely distributed shorebird — Communications Biology, 6(1), 131

2022

• Yorzinski, J. L., Troscianko, J., Briolat, E., Schapiro, S. J., & Whitham, W. (2022).

  A songbird can detect the eyes of conspecifics under daylight and artificial nighttime lighting — Environmental Pollution, 313, 120000
• Šulc, M., Hughes, A. E., Mari, L., Troscianko, J., Tomášek, O., Albrecht, T., et al. (2022).

  Nest sanitation as an effective defence against brood parasitism — Animal Cognition, 25(4), 991-1002

  Download the PDF

• Whitham, W., Schapiro, S. J., Troscianko, J., & Yorzinski, J. L. (2022).

  Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) gaze is conspicuous at ecologically-relevant distances — Scientific Reports, 12(1), 9249
• Whitham, W., Schapiro, S. J., Troscianko, J., & Yorzinski, J. L. (2022).

  The gaze of a social monkey is perceptible to conspecifics and predators but not prey — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 289(1976), 20220194
• Hancock, G. R. A., & Troscianko, J. (2022).

  CamoEvo: an open access toolbox for artificial camouflage evolution experiments — Evolution, 76(5), 870-882

  

  Read the post

• Šulc, M., Hughes, A. E., Troscianko, J., Štětková, G., Procházka, P., Požgayová, M., et al. (2022).

  Automatic identification of bird females using egg phenotype — Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 195(1), 33-44

  Download the PDF

• Yong, L., Croft, D. P., Troscianko, J., Ramnarine, I. W., & Wilson, A. J. (2022).

  Sensory-based quantification of male colour patterns in Trinidadian guppies reveals no support for parallel phenotypic evolution in multivariate trait space — Molecular Ecology, 31(5), 1337-1357

2021

• Massy, R., Hawkes, W. L. S., Doyle, T., Troscianko, J., Menz, M. H. M., Roberts, N. W., et al. (2021).

  Hoverflies use a time-compensated sun compass to orientate during autumn migration — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1959), 20211805
• Briolat, E. S., Gaston, K. J., Bennie, J., Rosenfeld, E. J., & Troscianko, J. (2021).

  Artificial nighttime lighting impacts visual ecology links between flowers, pollinators and predators — Nature Communications, 12(1), 4163

  

  Read the related post

• Troscianko, J., Nokelainen, O., Skelhorn, J., & Stevens, M. (2021).

  Variable crab camouflage patterns defeat search image formation — Communications Biology, 4(1), 287
• Hughes, A. E., Griffiths, D., Troscianko, J., & Kelley, L. A. (2021).

  The evolution of patterning during movement in a large-scale citizen science game — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1942), 20202823

  Play dazzlebug here

2020

• Stephenson, J. F., Stevens, M., Troscianko, J., & Jokela, J. (2020).

  The size, symmetry, and color saturation of a male guppy's ornaments forecast his resistance to parasites — The American Naturalist, 196(5), 597-608
• Jamie, G. A., Van Belleghem, S. M., Hogan, B. G., Hamama, S., Moya, C., et al. (2020).

  Multimodal mimicry of hosts in a radiation of parasitic finches — Evolution, 74(11), 2526-2538
• Caves, E. M., Troscianko, J., & Kelley, L. A. (2020).

  A customizable, low-cost optomotor apparatus: a powerful tool for behaviourally measuring visual capability — Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 11(10), 1319-1324
• Heathcote, R. J. P., Troscianko, J., Darden, S. K., Naisbett-Jones, L. C., Laker, P. R., et al. (2020).

  A matador-like predator diversion strategy driven by conspicuous coloration in guppies — Current Biology, 30(14), 2844-2851.e8

  

  Read the related post

• Young, M. M. I., Winters, S., Young, C., Weiß, B. M., Troscianko, J., Ganswindt, A., et al. (2020).

  Male characteristics as predictors of genital color and display variation in vervet monkeys — Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 74(2), 14
• van den Berg, C. P., Troscianko, J., Endler, J. A., Marshall, N. J., & Cheney, K. L. (2020).

  Quantitative Colour Pattern Analysis (QCPA): a comprehensive framework for the analysis of colour patterns in nature — Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 11(2), 316-332

2019

• Hawkes, M. F., Duffy, E., Joag, R., Skeats, A., Radwan, J., Wedell, N. Sharma, M. D., Hosken, D. J., Troscianko, J. (2019)

  Sexual selection drives the evolution of male wing interference patterns — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286 (1903): 20182850
• Šulc, M., Troscianko, J., Štětková, G., Hughes, A. E., Jelínek, V., Capek, M., et al. (2019).

  Mimicry cannot explain rejection type in a host–brood parasite system — Animal Behaviour, 155, 111-118

  Download the PDF

• Price, N., Green, S., Troscianko, J., Tregenza, T., & Stevens, M. (2019).

  Background matching and disruptive coloration as habitat-specific strategies for camouflage — Scientific Reports, 9(1), 7840
• Koleček, J., Šulc, M., Piálková, R., Troscianko, J., Požgayová, M., Honza, M., et al. (2019).

  Rufous common cuckoo chicks are not always female — Journal of Ornithology, 160(1), 155-163

  Download the PDF

2018

• Ligon, R. A., Diaz, C. D., Morano, J. L., Troscianko, J., Stevens, M., Moskeland, A., et al. (2018).

  Evolution of correlated complexity in the radically different courtship signals of birds-of-paradise — PLoS Biology, 16(11), e2006962

  

  Read the related post

• Dell'Aglio, D. D., Troscianko, J., McMillan, W. O., Stevens, M., & Jiggins, C. D. (2018).

  The appearance of mimetic Heliconius butterflies to predators and conspecifics — Evolution, 72(10), 2156-2166
• Troscianko, J., Skelhorn, J., & Stevens, M. (2018).

  Camouflage strategies interfere differently with observer search images — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1886), 20181386
• Gómez, J., Ramo, C., Troscianko, J., Stevens, M., Castro, M., Pérez-Hurtado, A., et al. (2018).

  Individual egg camouflage is influenced by microhabitat selection and use of nest materials in ground-nesting birds — Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 72(9), 142

  Download the PDF

• Holmes, G. G., Delferrière, E., Rowe, C., Troscianko, J., & Skelhorn, J. (2018).

  Testing the feasibility of the startle-first route to deimatism — Scientific Reports, 8(1), 10737
• Heathcote, R. J. P., Darden, S. K., Troscianko, J., Lawson, M. R. M., Brown, A. M., et al. (2018).

  Dynamic eye colour as an honest signal of aggression — Current Biology, 28(11), R652-R653
• Gómez, J., Ramo, C., Stevens, M., Liñán-Cembrano, G., et al. (2018).

  Latitudinal variation in biophysical characteristics of avian eggshells to cope with differential effects of solar radiation — Ecology and Evolution

2017

• Robledo-Ospina, L. E., Escobar-Sarria, F., Troscianko, J., & Rao, D. (2017).

  Two ways to hide: predator and prey perspectives of disruptive coloration and background matching in jumping spiders — Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 122(4), 752-764
• Abernathy, V. E., Troscianko, J., & Langmore, N. E. (2017).

  Egg mimicry by the Pacific koel: mimicry of one host facilitates exploitation of other hosts with similar egg types — Journal of Avian Biology, 48(11), 1414-1424

  Download the PDF

• Stevens, M., Troscianko, J., Wilson-Aggarwal, J. K., & Spottiswoode, C. N. (2017).

  Improvement of individual camouflage through background choice in ground-nesting birds — Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1(9), 1325-1333

  Download the PDF

• Koski, T. M., Lindstedt, C., Klemola, T., Troscianko, J., Mäntylä, E., Tyystjärvi, E., et al. (2017).

  Insect herbivory may cause changes in the visual properties of leaves and affect the camouflage of herbivores to avian predators — Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 71(6), 97

  Download the PDF

• Troscianko, J., Wilson-Aggarwal, J., Griffiths, D., Spottiswoode, C. N., & Stevens, M. (2017).

  Relative advantages of dichromatic and trichromatic color vision in camouflage breaking — Behavioral Ecology, 28(2), 556-564

  Read the related post, Download PDF

• Troscianko, J., Skelhorn, J., & Stevens, M. (2017).

  Quantifying camouflage: how to predict detectability from appearance — BMC Evolutionary Biology, 17(1), 7

  

  Read the related post

2016

• De Gasperin, O., Duarte, A., Troscianko, J., & Kilner, R. M. (2016).

  Fitness costs associated with building and maintaining the burying beetle's carrion nest — Scientific Reports, 6(1), 35293

  Read the related post

• Troscianko, J., Wilson-Aggarwal, J., Spottiswoode, C. N., & Stevens, M. (2016).

  Nest covering in plovers: how modifying the visual environment influences egg camouflage — Ecology and Evolution, 6(20), 7536-7545

  Read the related post

• Wilson-Aggarwal, J. K., Troscianko, J. T., Stevens, M., & Spottiswoode, C. N. (2016).

  Escape distance in ground-nesting birds differs with individual level of camouflage — The American Naturalist, 188(2), 231-239

  Read the related post

• Medina, I., Troscianko, J., Stevens, M., & Langmore, N. E. (2016).

  Brood parasitism is linked to egg pattern diversity within and among species of Australian passerines — The American Naturalist, 187(3), 351-362

  Download PDF

• Troscianko, J., Wilson-Aggarwal, J., Stevens, M., & Spottiswoode, C. N. (2016).

  Camouflage predicts survival in ground-nesting birds — Scientific Reports, 6(1), 19966

  Read the related post

2015

• Troscianko, J., & Rutz, C. (2015).

  Activity profiles and hook-tool use of New Caledonian crows recorded by bird-borne video cameras — Biology Letters, 11(12), 20150777

  Read the related post

• Troscianko, J., & Stevens, M. (2015).

  Image calibration and analysis toolbox – a free software suite for objectively measuring reflectance, colour and pattern — Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 6(11), 1320-1331

  Read the related post

• Stevens, M., Broderick, A. C., Godley, B. J., Lown, A. E., Troscianko, J., Weber, N., et al. (2015).

  Phenotype–environment matching in sand fleas — Biology Letters, 11(8), 20150494

  Read the related post

• Feeney, W. E., Troscianko, J., Langmore, N. E., & Spottiswoode, C. N. (2015).

  Evidence for aggressive mimicry in an adult brood parasitic bird, and generalized defences in its host — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1810), 20150795
• Burriss, R. P., Troscianko, J., Lovell, P. G., Fulford, A. J. C., Stevens, M., Quigley, R., et al. (2015).

  Changes in women's facial skin color over the ovulatory cycle are not detectable by the human visual system — PLoS One, 10(7), e0130093

2014

• Troscianko, J. (2014).

  A simple tool for calculating egg shape, volume and surface area from digital images — Ibis, 156(4), 874-878

  

  Read the related post, Download the PDF

• Hughes, A. E., Troscianko, J., & Stevens, M. (2014).

  Motion dazzle and the effects of target patterning on capture success — BMC Evolutionary Biology, 14(1), 201
• Arenas, L. M., Troscianko, J., & Stevens, M. (2014).

  Color contrast and stability as key elements for effective warning signals — Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2, 25

2013

• Stevens, M., Troscianko, J., & Spottiswoode, C. N. (2013).

  Repeated targeting of the same hosts by a brood parasite compromises host egg rejection — Nature Communications, 4(1), 2475
• Troscianko, J., Lown, A. E., Hughes, A. E., & Stevens, M. (2013).

  Defeating crypsis: detection and learning of camouflage strategies — PLoS One, 8(9), e73733
• Stevens, M., Troscianko, J., Marshall, K. L. A., & Finlay, S. (2013).

  What is camouflage through distractive markings? A reply to Merilaita et al.(2013) — Behavioral Ecology, 24(5), e1272-e1273
• Stevens, M., Marshall, K. L. A., Troscianko, J., Finlay, S., Burnand, D., et al. (2013).

  Revealed by conspicuousness: distractive markings reduce camouflage — Behavioral Ecology, 24(1), 213-222

  Download PDF

• Rutz, C., & Troscianko, J. (2013).

  Programmable, miniature video-loggers for deployment on wild birds and other wildlife — Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 4(2), 114-122

  

2012

• Troscianko, J., Von Bayern, A. M., Chappell, J., Rutz, C., & Martin, G. R. (2012).

  Extreme binocular vision and a straight bill facilitate tool use in New Caledonian crows — Nature Communications, 3(1), 1110

  

2010

• Rutz, C., Bluff, L. A., Reed, N., Troscianko, J., Newton, J., Inger, R., et al. (2010).

  The ecological significance of tool use in New Caledonian crows — Science, 329(5998), 1523-1526

  

  Download PDF

• Bluff, L. A., Troscianko, J., Weir, A. A. S., Kacelnik, A., & Rutz, C. (2010).

  Tool use by wild New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides at natural foraging sites — Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1686), 1377

  Download PDF

2009

• Takahashi, T., McDougall, C., Troscianko, J., Chen, W. C., et al. (2009).

  An EST screen from the annelid Pomatoceros lamarckii reveals patterns of gene loss and gain in animals — BMC Evolutionary Biology, 9(1), 240

2008

• Troscianko, J., Bluff, L. A., & Rutz, C. (2008).

  Grass-stem tool use in New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides — Ardea, 96(2), 283-285

2005

• Lovell, P. G., Tolhurst, D. J., Parraga, C. A., Baddeley, R., Leonards, U., et al. (2005).

  Stability of the color-opponent signals under changes of illuminant in natural scenes — Journal of the Optical Society of America A, 22(10), 2060-2071

  Download PDF