Ultraviolet vision in anemonefish improves colour discrimination.
J Exp Biol
; 227(7)2024 Apr 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38586934
ABSTRACT
In many animals, ultraviolet (UV) vision guides navigation, foraging, and communication, but few studies have addressed the contribution of UV signals to colour vision, or measured UV discrimination thresholds using behavioural experiments. Here, we tested UV colour vision in an anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) using a five-channel (RGB-V-UV) LED display. We first determined that the maximal sensitivity of the A. ocellaris UV cone was â¼386â
nm using microspectrophotometry. Three additional cone spectral sensitivities had maxima at â¼497, 515 and â¼535â
nm. We then behaviourally measured colour discrimination thresholds by training anemonefish to distinguish a coloured target pixel from grey distractor pixels of varying intensity. Thresholds were calculated for nine sets of colours with and without UV signals. Using a tetrachromatic vision model, we found that anemonefish were better (i.e. discrimination thresholds were lower) at discriminating colours when target pixels had higher UV chromatic contrast. These colours caused a greater stimulation of the UV cone relative to other cone types. These findings imply that a UV component of colour signals and cues improves their detectability, which likely increases the prominence of anemonefish body patterns for communication and the silhouette of zooplankton prey.
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MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Perciformes
/
Visão de Cores
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article