Scientific photography and animal behaviour: A historical perspective

Authors

  • Enrique Font Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (UV) (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.14.24660

Keywords:

photography, ethology, Darwin, animal behaviour, emotional expression

Abstract

Louis Daguerre imagined that his invention would be useful mainly for artistic purposes or for personal use (portraits and travel diaries, etc.), but in fact photography soon became a valuable ally of science. The observation and documentation of natural phenomena is one of the pillars of the scientific method. In this context, photography guarantees objectivity and authenticity in a way that other alternative techniques cannot. Moreover, as a visual tool, it gives us access to phenomena that cannot be perceived or processed by the human eye. A book on the expression of emotions published by Charles Darwin 150 years ago marked the beginning of scientific photography.

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Author Biography

Enrique Font, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (UV) (Spain).

Full professor of Zoology at the University of Valencia (UV) and director of the Ethology Laboratory (e3) at the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (UV) (Spain). He is an ethologist (University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA), and his research deals with a variety of topics related to animal behaviour, especially behaviour and communication in lizards

References

Badiane, A., & Font, E. (2021). Information content of ultraviolet-reflecting colour patches and visual perception of body coloration in the Tyrrhenian wall lizard Podarcis tiliguerta. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75, 96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03023-2

Ekman, P. (1970). Universal facial expressions of emotions. California Mental Health Research Digest, 8(4), 151–158.

Font, E., Carazo, P., Pérez i de Lanuza, G., & Kramer, M. (2012). Predator-elicited foot shakes in wall lizards (Podarcis muralis): Evidence for a pursuit-deterrent function. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 126, 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025446

Kettlewell, H. B. D. (1955). Selection experiments on industrial melanism in the Lepidoptera. Heredity, 9, 323–342. https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1955.36

Majerus, M. E. N. (2009). Industrial melanism in the peppered moth, Biston betularia: An excellent teaching example of Darwinian evolution in action. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 2, 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-008-0107-y

Ota, N., Gahr, M., & Soma, M. (2015). Tap dancing birds: The multimodal mutual courtship display of males and females in a socially monogamous songbird. Scientific Reports, 5, 16614. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep16614

Prodger, P. (2009). Darwin’s camera: Art and photography in the theory of evolution. Oxford University Press.

Rudge, D. W. (2003). The role of photographs and films in Kettlewell’s popularizations of the phenomenon of industrial melanism. Science & Education, 12, 261–287. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024031432066

Sabater Pi, J. (1978). El chimpancé y los orígenes de la cultura. Promoción Cultural.

Schleidt, W. M., & Oeser, E. (2011). Konrad Lorenz’s use of cinematic film for studying dabbling duck courtship behaviour and the availability of historic film materials. Wildfowl, 61, 45–51.

Shaffer, L. (1991). The Tinbergen legacy in photography and film. In M. Dawkins, T. Halliday, & R. Dawkins (Eds.), The Tinbergen legacy (pp. 129–138). Springer.

Voss, J. (2010). Darwin’s pictures: Views of evolutionary theory, 1837-1874. Yale University Press.

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Published

2024-01-11

How to Cite

Font, E. (2024). Scientific photography and animal behaviour: A historical perspective. Metode Science Studies Journal, (14), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.14.24660
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Issue

Pieces of science (vol. 14, 2024)

Section

Moments of science. Photography and the understanding of nature

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