Decorator Crab

Decorator crabs attach algae, sponges, and hydroids to specialized hooked hairs covering their shells, creating living camouflage that conceals them from predators. This decoration strategy inverts the bowerbird's approach - where bowerbirds decorate to attract attention, decorator crabs decorate to avoid it.

The behavior demonstrates sophisticated environmental matching. Different crab populations decorate with locally abundant materials, and individuals transferred to new environments gradually replace their decorations to match new surroundings. Some species preferentially attach toxic sponges or stinging hydroids, adding chemical defense to visual camouflage.

The business parallel applies to stealth strategies and competitive concealment. Startups sometimes adopt 'cockroach' strategies - maintaining low profiles to avoid attracting competitive response from incumbents. Like decorator crabs matching their environment, these companies avoid distinctive decoration that would reveal their presence to potential predators.

Decorator crabs also illustrate the cost of conspicuousness. Heavily decorated crabs move more slowly and expend more energy. The decoration provides survival value only when the cost of visibility exceeds the cost of carrying camouflage. Companies similarly face trade-offs between visibility and operational efficiency - maintaining stealth reduces competitive attention but limits growth potential.