Researchers at the University of Queensland (Australia) have determined that the reef fish see colors that humans can not perceive.
A team from the Laboratory of Sensory Neurobiology Professor Justin Marshall at the Queensland Brain Institute conducted a series of behavioral experiments with triggerfish, in an attempt to decipher how they see the world.
Professor Marshall said previous studies had studied how the goldfish saw the color, but this was the first study of how reef fish discriminate colors.
“Coral reefs are the most colorful environments in the world, and now it has become clear that the reef fish see colors that we can not perceive,” Professor Marshall said.
“Some reef fish, like clownfish (Nemo popularized) and other species, can see ultraviolet wavelengths of which we protect.
“The triggerfish, on the other hand, sees much less color range than us but their discrimination of color are different. Thinking about it, this is not a big surprise. Their objective colors are based in blue because they live in a blue ocean, “according to a statement.
“Ironically, while the colors of the reef change and disappear because of climate change, we are only beginning to understand how reef inhabitants see and experience its vibrant world,” he said.
Professor Connor Champ participated in the study with a series of detailed performance tests, where triggerfish were rewarded for discriminating progressively similar colors.
It was revealed that triggerfish see colors in some color regions in more detail than humans.
