The UV visual world of fishes: a review

Abstract

Ultraviolet-A radiation (320–400 nm) is scattered rapidly in water. Despite this fact, UV is present in biologically useful amounts to at least 100 m deep in clear aquatic environments. Discovery of UV visual pigments with peak absorption at around 360 nm in teleost cone photoreceptors indicates that many teleost fishes may be adapted for vision in the UV range. Considering the characteristic absorption curve for visual pigments, about 18% of the downwelling light that illuminates objects at 30-m depth would be available to UV-sensitive cones. Strong scattering of UV radiation should produce unique imaging conditions as a very bright UV background in the horizontal view and a marked veiling effect that, with distance, obscures an image. Many teleosts have three, or even four, classes of cone cells mediating colour vision in their retina and one can be sensitive to UV. These UV-sensitive cones contain a visual pigment based on a unique opsin which is highly conserved between fish species. Several powerful methods exist for demonstration of UV vision, but all are rather demanding in terms of technique and equipment. Demonstration that the eye lacks UV-blocking compounds that are present in many fish eyes is a simpler method that can indicate the possibility of UV vision. The only experimental evidence for the use of UV vision by fishes is connected to planktivory: detection of UV-opaque objects at close range against a bright UV background is enhanced by the physical properties of UV light. Once present, perhaps for the function of detecting food, UV vision may well be co-opted through natural selection for other functions. Recent discovery that UV vision is critically important for mate choice in some birds and lizards is a strong object lesson for fish ecologists and behaviourists. Other possible functions amount to far more than merely adding a fourth dimension to the visible spectrum. Since UV is scattered so effectively in water, it may be useful for social signalling at short range and reduce the possibility of detection by other, illegitimate, receivers. Since humans are blind to UV light, we may be significantly in error, in many cases, in our attempts to understand and evaluate visual aspects of fish behaviour. A survey of the reflectance properties of skin pigments in fishes reveals a rich array of pigments with reflectance peaks in the UV. For example, the same yellow to our eyes may comprise two perceptually different colours to fish, yellow and UV-yellow. It is clearly necessary for us to anticipate that many fishes may have some form of UV vision.