Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về sinh học được đăng trên tạp chí sinh học Journal of Biology đề tài: Will he still look good with the lights on? Spectral tuning of visual pigments in fish. | Journal of Biology BioMed Central Minireview Will he still look good with the lights on Spectral tuning of visual pigments in fish Julia C Jones Helen M Gunter and Axel Meyer Address Lehrstuhl fur Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie Department of Biology University of Konstanz D-78476 Konstanz Germany. Correspondence Axel Meyer. Email Published 25 September 2008 Journal of Biology 2008 7 26 doi jbiol86 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http content 7 7 26 2008 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract Visual perception is a key element in evolution as it is required for many life processes. Two recent studies in BMC Biology and BMC Evolutionary Biology shed light on the genetic determinants of color detection in strikingly colored fish. Early work on animal behavior by Jakob Uexkull defined each animal s perceived world as its Umwelt. In this regard every species lives in its own world. Bats hear their world mostly by echolocation elephants communicate with very low-frequency sounds and likewise the ultraviolet UV world of insects is hard for us to imagine. We live in a world that we perceive to a large extent through vision as do many other organisms. But not all visual worlds are the same each species perceives only a subset of light wavelengths which are determined by various evolutionary pressures. For example color-driven sexual selection is rife among fish including sticklebacks cichlids and poeciliids guppies and swordtails 1-3 - the family that cichlids belong to is aptly named Buntbarsche in German which translates as colorful perches . Cichlids and guppies display stunning color diversity whereby males differ markedly in coloration from females 4 5 but they pay a price for this by increasing their risk of predation. Furthermore the vision of each species is tuned to its spectral environment and must enable a balance between successful foraging predator avoidance and the choice
