Conspicuous Social Signaling Drives the Evolution of Chameleon Color Change

Social Signaling Drives Chameleon Color Evolution

This study by Stuart-Fox & Moussalli (2008) investigates the evolutionary drivers behind chameleon color change, challenging the traditional view that camouflage is the primary function. Instead, the research demonstrates that social signaling, particularly in male contests and courtship, has played a dominant role in shaping color change capabilities.

Key Findings

• Chameleons with greater color change ability use it primarily for social interactions, not camouflage.

• Male contests and courtship displays involve highly conspicuous color signals, maximizing detectability to conspecifics while minimizing predator exposure.

• Visual models show that color contrast in social signaling is more pronounced than background-matching camouflage, reinforcing the social selection hypothesis.

This study provides strong evidence that selection for conspicuous signaling has driven chameleon color evolution, rather than environmental background matching.

Stuart-Fox, D., & Moussalli, A. (2008). Selection for social signalling drives the evolution of chameleon colour change. PLoS Biology, 6(1), e25.