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. 2022 Nov 3;12(1):18617.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22333-7.

Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range

Kaia J Tombak #  1   2 , Andrew S Gersick #  3   4 , Lily V Reisinger  3   5 , Brenda Larison  6   7 , Daniel I Rubenstein  3
Affiliations

Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range

Kaia J Tombak et al. Sci Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

The best-supported hypothesis for why zebras have stripes is that stripes repel biting flies. While this effect is well-established, the mechanism behind it remains elusive. Myriad hypotheses have been suggested, but few experiments have helped narrow the field of possible explanations. In addition, the complex visual features of real zebra pelage and the natural range of stripe widths have been largely left out of experimental designs. In paired-choice field experiments in a Kenyan savannah, we found that hungry Stomoxys flies released in an enclosure strongly preferred to land on uniform tan impala pelts over striped zebra pelts but exhibited no preference between the pelts of the zebra species with the widest stripes and the narrowest stripes. Our findings confirm that zebra stripes repel biting flies under naturalistic conditions and do so at close range (suggesting that several of the mechanisms hypothesized to operate at a distance are unnecessary for the fly-repulsion effect) but indicate that interspecific variation in stripe width is associated with selection pressures other than biting flies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Number of fly landings per trial on zebra and impala skins for each paired-choice treatment (statistics run on mean landings per trial, shown by large black points, which were mean counts across subtrials within a trial session, shown in faded navy points). ns no significant difference, **p < 0.01.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequency distributions of landings per subtrial on the different skins and in the off-skin zones within the arena in the paired choice experiments.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Experimental set-up for a plains zebra vs. impala skin trial. Landings were recorded as having occurred on a skin surface, within the approach zone of 30 cm from the skin, or in the indifferent zone of 30–60 cm from the skin on either side of the petri dish. Photo credit: LVR.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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