The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus Camouflage
No animal can so effectively camouflage in such a wide range of environments as the octopus. Thanks to their highly malleable skin, they are capable of adapting their body patterns to the brightness and texture of their immediate environment, and they often seemingly match the colour of background o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Vision |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/6/4/59 |
| _version_ | 1797454925497630720 |
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| author | Luis Nahmad-Rohen Yusuf H. Qureshi Misha Vorobyev |
| author_facet | Luis Nahmad-Rohen Yusuf H. Qureshi Misha Vorobyev |
| author_sort | Luis Nahmad-Rohen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | No animal can so effectively camouflage in such a wide range of environments as the octopus. Thanks to their highly malleable skin, they are capable of adapting their body patterns to the brightness and texture of their immediate environment, and they often seemingly match the colour of background objects. However, octopuses are colour-blind as their eyes have only one type of visual pigment. Therefore, chromatophores in their skin are likely to respond to changes in brightness, not chromaticity. To determine whether octopuses actually match background colours, we used a SpectraScan<sup>®</sup> PR-655 spectroradiometer to measure the reflectance spectra of <i>Octopus tetricus</i> skin in captivity. The spectra were compared with those of green algae, brown algae, and sponges—all of these being colourful objects commonly found in the octopus’s natural environment. Even though we show that octopuses change both lightness and chromaticity, allowing them to potentially camouflage in a wide range of backgrounds in an effective manner, the overall octopus colours did not reach the same level of saturation compared to some background objects. Spectra were then modelled under the visual systems of four potential octopus predators: one dichromatic fish (Heller’s barracuda), two trichromatic fish (blue-spotted stingray and two-spotted red snapper), and one tetrachromatic bird (wedge-tailed shearwater). We show that octopuses are able to match certain background colours for some visual systems. How a colour-blind animal is capable of colour-matching is still unknown. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:45:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bca87df22fe5487095092866c79aafb2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2411-5150 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:45:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vision |
| spelling | doaj.art-bca87df22fe5487095092866c79aafb22023-11-24T18:40:28ZengMDPI AGVision2411-51502022-09-01645910.3390/vision6040059The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus CamouflageLuis Nahmad-Rohen0Yusuf H. Qureshi1Misha Vorobyev2Leigh Marine Laboratory, Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Leigh, Auckland 0985, New ZealandLeigh Marine Laboratory, Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Leigh, Auckland 0985, New ZealandOptometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Grafton, Auckland 1023, New ZealandNo animal can so effectively camouflage in such a wide range of environments as the octopus. Thanks to their highly malleable skin, they are capable of adapting their body patterns to the brightness and texture of their immediate environment, and they often seemingly match the colour of background objects. However, octopuses are colour-blind as their eyes have only one type of visual pigment. Therefore, chromatophores in their skin are likely to respond to changes in brightness, not chromaticity. To determine whether octopuses actually match background colours, we used a SpectraScan<sup>®</sup> PR-655 spectroradiometer to measure the reflectance spectra of <i>Octopus tetricus</i> skin in captivity. The spectra were compared with those of green algae, brown algae, and sponges—all of these being colourful objects commonly found in the octopus’s natural environment. Even though we show that octopuses change both lightness and chromaticity, allowing them to potentially camouflage in a wide range of backgrounds in an effective manner, the overall octopus colours did not reach the same level of saturation compared to some background objects. Spectra were then modelled under the visual systems of four potential octopus predators: one dichromatic fish (Heller’s barracuda), two trichromatic fish (blue-spotted stingray and two-spotted red snapper), and one tetrachromatic bird (wedge-tailed shearwater). We show that octopuses are able to match certain background colours for some visual systems. How a colour-blind animal is capable of colour-matching is still unknown.https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/6/4/59octopuscamouflagespectrometrycolour matchingvisual systems |
| spellingShingle | Luis Nahmad-Rohen Yusuf H. Qureshi Misha Vorobyev The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus Camouflage Vision octopus camouflage spectrometry colour matching visual systems |
| title | The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus Camouflage |
| title_full | The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus Camouflage |
| title_fullStr | The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus Camouflage |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus Camouflage |
| title_short | The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus Camouflage |
| title_sort | colours of octopus using spectral data to measure octopus camouflage |
| topic | octopus camouflage spectrometry colour matching visual systems |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/6/4/59 |
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