Oct. 29, 2012— The most popular freshwater fish kept in the home aquaria , the cichlid fish Pelvicachromis taeniatus has been discovered to have the unique ability of seeing in the near infrared range .
German biologists from the University of Bonn have discovered this which was thought to be unlikely until now. Seeing in the infrared range is apparently helping fish to hunt in shallow African rivers. the results will be published in the journal Naturwissenschaften and are already available online now.
A research team in the work group of Prof. Dr. T. C. M. Bakker at the Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, has been studying the biology of this African cichlid fish for years.
 |
| the male cichlid fish |
Researchers conducted a prey choice experiment to investigate the ability to see in the infrared range. Freshwater shrimp, a prey of cichlid fish reflects near infrared radiation. The researchers used this fact to examine the perception of infrared light. In a dark room a prey selection experiment was set up illuminated by infrared lamps. In front of the water basin containing the fish freshwater shrimp were offered in two separate chambers. One of the chambers with the prey was covered with a filter blocking infrared wavelengths. The other chamber was covered with a filter that would let only infrared light pass.
The experiment showed that the fish spent more time and were more frequently in front of the chamber that led infrared light pass.
The advantages of the fish's ability to see infrared may become obvious when you look at its natural habitat. The shallow rivers of West Africa have a relatively large amount of infrared radiation.
The researchers found that certain regions of the cichlid body reflect the light in the near infrared range.
The female cichlid reflects infrared radiation from their belly and male from their fins.
Source : ScienceDaily
No comments:
Post a Comment