New Study Lets Us See How Animals See

The University of Arkansas has undergone a study to extend our knowledge of how animals see, specifically how they view colour, providing us with new information about how animals process different wavelengths of light and how this becomes vision.

The study has revealed new information about how different kinds of animals view the world. Interestingly, we are now aware that animals that have adapted to land and large open areas are able to view a much wider spectrum of colour than their ocean and forest-residing relatives. 

This is likely due to those that live above land in open habitats being exposed to far more light and therefore a broader range of colours. However, those living in darker areas such as under the water or in heavily forested areas have limited vision due to the lack of light able to reach them, thus meaning the range of colours they are able to perceive is much smaller.

Researchers also looked into the hypothesis of whether or not animals adapt to view the colours present in their natural habitats, but further research has shown that while this may be the case, there are several physiological factors that also affect how they see colour. 

Research shows that invertebrate and vertebrate animals use entirely different cells in order to see and these cells work differently in each animal in order to turn wavelengths of light into vision through neurons in the brain. 

This study has shown that different species of animal view the same world in completely different ways. It also shows how evolution relies heavily on the environment these animals live in and how different environments can entirely change the way we and other animals function.  

A huge number of species of animal were studied, 446 to be exact, meaning a very broad spectrum of animals was used in the study in order to gather information from a wide range of animals, making the study more reliable.

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