Spatiotemporal Dimensions of Visual Signals in Animal Communication

Much of the information in visual signals is encoded in motion, form, and texture. Current knowledge about the mechanisms underlying visual communication is spread across diverse disciplines. Contemporary perspectives on the physics, psychology, and genetics of visual signal generation and perception can be synthesized into a conceptually integrative approach. Developmental mechanisms of pattern formation suggest that small changes in gene regulation or structure can result in major shifts in signal architecture. Animals in many species have been shown to attend to variation in higher-order stimulus properties. Preferences for these properties can be innately specified or learned, and may also show large shifts or reversals. Perceptual mechanisms, particularly visual attention, associated with spatiotemporal features are likely to be a major force in shaping the design of visual signals.