Aussie researchers say reef fish see colors that humans cannot

Australian researchers from the University of Queensland have established that reef fish see colors that humans cannot.

The team led by Prof. Justin Marshall from the Sensory Neurobiology Lab at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) in a statement on Wednesday said the findings were derived after a series of behavioral experiments done with triggerfish.

Marshall said previous studies had looked into how goldfish saw color, but this was the first study into how reef fish discriminate colors.

"Coral reefs are the most colorful environments in the world, and it's now become clear that reef fish see colors we can't," Marshall said.

"Some reef fish, such as the anemonefish Nemo and other damselfish can see the UV wavelengths we protect ourselves from," he said.

"Triggerfish, on the other hand, see more or less the same color range we do but their color discriminations are different," he said.

"Thinking about it, this is no big surprise. Their color tasks are blue-biased, as they live in a blue ocean," Marshall said.

"Ironically, as the colors of the reef change and disappear because of climate change, we are just beginning to understand how reef inhabitants see and experience their vibrant world," he said.

Marshall said the university led a series of detailed behavioral tests, where triggerfish were rewarded for discriminating against progressively similar colors.

It emerged that triggerfish see colors in some color regions in more detail than humans.

"But this sort of comparative look at animal systems is vitally important to understand not just the beauty of nature and how to look after it, but to consider the possible applications in the human world," he said.

(APD)