Concordance on zebra stripes is not black and white: response to comment by Caro & Stankowich (2015)

We agree that the results of Larison et al . [1] and Caro et al . [2] are largely congruent—however, we remain divided on their interpretation. Both papers assessed a number of variables for an association with striping. Larison et al . [1] found temperature, specifically isothermality and the coldest temperature of the coldest quarter, to be the primary predictor of the degree of striping in plains zebra, with other climate and habitat variables playing very minor roles. Caro et al . [2] purport to have found a strong correlation between tabanid abundance and the degree of striping across equids. Caro and Stankowich would like readers to believe that both sets of data strongly support the notion that the evolution of striping has been driven by tabanid flies. However, we believe both sets …