30 as our understanding of what fish see expanded .
UV Light : The Science of Fish Sight
TYLER HICKS : PONDERAY , ID
We live in colorful world . If you look in your home and in the natural world around , you will find an infinite variety of colors on display . Compared to other mammals , humans have well developed color sensory abilities . The colors we detect are a product of the properties of the wavelengths of light reflected from the surfaces we are looking at . Longer wavelengths in the 700 nanometer ( nm ) range appear red to us and as those wavelengths shorten they become yellow , green , blue , and finally end at violet at around 400 nm in length . Longer wavelengths beyond 700 nm are described as infrared and beyond the visible spectrum of humans , as are shorter wavelengths below 400 nm that we classify as ultraviolet or UV light . For many years , anglers were only concerned with UV light in that these short high energy waves can damage our skin and retinas causing damage to our DNA and ultimately leading to cancer . This changed
30 as our understanding of what fish see expanded .
For many years , we assumed that many fish had limited vision primarily in the red and green portion of the visible spectrum . Through advances in the study of animal vision and color , we have now learned that many animals possess UV coloration and the ability to see into the UV spectrum … fish included . We now know that animals are using their UV color to identify and assess mate quality , predators , and most importantly to locate food and / or prey .
The importance of UV vision in fish is still a hotly contested topic among scientists and anglers alike . For instance , we know that young trout and salmon possess specialized UV sensitive cones in their eye during their juvenile life stages . Research has found that these juvenile fish are hyper-sensitive to UV and are using it to