Reef fish exhibit an astonishing array of colours and patterns.
Some of these fish are even able to change their colours rapidly depending on the situation they are in. In addition to the amazing colours we as humans see, many fish can also see and use ultraviolet (UV) as a colour to communicate in their environment. As a research group we are particularly interested in addressing fundamental questions relating to what fish see and how this impacts their general ecology through both intra- and inter- species communication, feeding, camouflage and predation.
Possible projects with fish include:
- Reef fish vision and colour patterns
- Individual species or family visual ecology – pick a fish, come and work it up.
- Why are reef fish spectral sensitivities so variable? Visual ecology gone bad!
- Molecular biology and evolution of spectral sensitivities in reef fish.
- Does a predator’s colour and pattern affect its success?
- Does the colour and pattern of a prey species affect its survival rate?
- Vision and colours of freshwater fish, cichlids and lungfish.
sensoryecologyuq.com 