Now you see itA SILVER sliver appears, then winks away beneath the waves. For years, scientists have known that many fish have an uncanny ability to camouflage themselves even when swimming in the open ocean. Now they know how. Research published last month in Science solved the mystery. It also raised the question of why so much effort and expense was expended studying invisible fish in the first place. Both explanations are intriguing. Begin with the fish.
“The prevailing wisdom was that fish act like mirrors,” says Molly Cummings, a biologist at the University of Texas who runs a laboratory focused on sensory ecology, evolution and behaviour and was a co-author of the study. And when the sun is directly overhead, they do. But for most of the day, Ms Cummings continued, this is not enough. Light is polarised and scattered through the water. A fish living in the open ocean is often faced with light coming from every direction.
The paper explains the solution that some fish have devised. Their skin cells include structures called guanine platelets that work like an array of microscopic...Continue reading
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