I am interested in the biological principles underlying the evolution of coloration in animals, and in understanding the ecological circumstances in which different types of external coloration arise in nature. Much of my research involves field work on three continents.
I study the adaptive significance of coloration in animals focusing on two taxonomic groups, mammals and decapods. In mammals I conduct research on the reasons that zebras have stripes, why giant pandas have black and white pelage, and why skunks are so variable in appearance. I also examine the evolutionary drivers of conspicuous coloration across all terrestrial mammals using phylogenetic comparative analyses. In crabs, I study colour polymorphisms in coconut crabs, and protective coloration within and across intertidal crab species.
I am also interested in conservation strategies in tropical ecosystems and I work with government authorities in Tanzania to find practical conservation solutions to exploitation and habitat alteration.
I have a continuing interest in finding links between animal behaviour and conservation biology.
1970s BA University of Cambridge; PhD University of St Andrews.
1980s Postdocs Serengeti Wildlife Research Institute, Tanzania; Sub-Department of Animal Behaviour, Cambridge; University of Michigan.
1990s Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor, University of California, Davis.
2000s Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award, UC Davis.
2010s Fellow of the Linnean Society of London; Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Study, Berlin (Convener of Focus Group on Animal Coloration); Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California.
Koneru, M. & Caro, T. 2022. Animal Coloration in the Anthropocene. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10:857317.
Caro, T., Brockelsbury, K., Ferrari, A., Koneru, M., Ono, K., Rowe, Z. W., Touche, E., Walker, H., & Stankowich, T. 2022. On the evolution of distinctive natal coat coloration in primates. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 1-10.
Howell, N., Sheard, C., Koneru, M., Brockelsby, K., Ono, K. & Caro, T. 2021. Aposematism in mammals. Evolution, 75: 2480-2493.
Caro, T., Brockelsby, K., Ferrari, A., Koneru, M., Ono, K., Touche, E., & Stankowich, T. 2021. The evolution of primate coat coloration revisited. Behavioral Ecology, 32(4), 555-567.
Caro, T. & Koneru, M. 2021. Towards an ecology of protective coloration. Biological Reviews, 96, 611- 641.
Caro, T. 2020. When coloration is a poor match, Evolutionary Ecology 35, 1-13.
Caro, T. 2020. Zebra stripes. Current Biology 30, R963-R983.
How, M., Gonzales, D., Irwin, A. & Caro, T. 2020. Zebra stripes, tabanid biting flies and the aperture effect. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287(1933), 20201521.
Mallarino, R. & Caro, T. 2020. Coloration in Mammals. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 35(4), 357-366
Caro, T., Raees, H, and Stankowich, T. 2020. Flash coloration in mammals? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 74, 1-7.
Caro, T., Argueta, Y., Briolat, E., Bruggink, J. Kasprowsky, M., Lake, J., Mitchell, M., Richardson, S. and How, M. 2019. Benefits of zebra stripes: behaviour of tabanid flies around zebras and horses. PLoS ONE 14, e0210831.
Caro, T. and Ruxton, G.D. 2019. Aposematism: unpacking the defences. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 34, 595-604.
Caro, T., Cluff, E. and Morgan, V.M., 2019. Colour polymorphism and protective coloration in coconut crabs. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 2019, 514-525.
Caro, T., Newell, C., and Stankowich, T. 2018. Ecocorrelates of pelage coloration in pigs and peccaries. Journal of Mammalogy 99, 1093-1100.
Nokelainen, O., Stevens, M., and Caro, T. 2018. Colour polymorphism in the coconut crab (Birgus latro). Evolutionary Ecology 32, 75-88.
Caro, T. 2018. The functional significance of coloration in crabs. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 124, 1-10.
Loeffler-Henry,K, Kang, C., Yip, Y., Caro, T. and Sherratt, T. 2018. Flash behavior increases prey survival. Behavioral Ecology 29: 528-533.
Caro, T., Newell, C., and Stankowich, T. 2018. Ecocorrelates of pelage coloration in pigs and peccaries. Journal of Mammalogy 99, 1093-1100.
Caro, T. & Morgan, V.M. 2018 Correlates of color polymorphism in coconut crabs Birgus latro. Zoology 129, 1-8.