The Geographical Variation of Colour Change in the Arabian Killifish (Aphaniops dispar Sensu Lato) From Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems Animals that live in a wide range of environments possess plastic traits such as colour change, but most research has only looked at this within single populations. In this study, we tested four popu...

Happy to share my second paper from my PhD. This study explores a fascinating aspect of the evolutionary and behavioural ecology of the Arabian killifish (Aphaniops dispar): colour change and camouflage.

Enjoy reading it as an open access on @ecol-evol.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
#colsci

🧪 Check this if you are interested in the convoluted evolution of lacertid colours. Yes, I know, we missed a unique opportunity opportunity to call the phenomenon "Chromatic Barrier of the Appennines", which totally sounds like a badass DnD spell.
#evolution #colsci #lizard #sexualselection

#colsci @micatoolbox.bsky.social

#Colsci

#colsci

Cryptic Ontogenetic Changes in the Ventral Coloration of a Color Polymorphic Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis) Wall lizards' ventral coloration undergoes cryptic ontogenetic color changes invisible without UV vision. We tracked wall lizards from hatching to one year of age. Spectrophotometry and visual modeli...

🧪 New paper out! Growing up, wall lizards undergo a UV-visible “awkward phase” (who doesn’t?) that we can’t see—but they can. These ontogenetic color changes may mediate juvenile–adult interactions by delaying the onset of adult social signals. doi.org/10.1002/jez.... #colsci #lizard #ontogeny

Graded opsin co-expression along the butterfly retina fine tunes the spectral sensitivity of a colour-opponent cell across the visual field - Journal of Comparative Physiology A Compound eyes deliver a vast stream of information to the tiny insect brains. To maximize the information content and minimize the redundancy of neural signals, insect eyes are built so to encode the relevant and filter out the unimportant elements of the visual environment. Terrestrial habitats have a predictable spatio-spectral structure, which can be matched by the distribution of photoreceptors with different spectral sensitivities across the retina. Here, we investigate the retinal organization of the nymphalid butterfly Heliconius melpomene using single-cell recordings, immunohistochemistry and eye shine imaging. The ventral retina is enriched with ommatidia, which contain red screening pigments that shape the spectral sensitivity of basal red receptors R9, while their long visual fibre photoreceptors R1&2, expressing a long-wavelength (L) opsin, are synaptically inhibited by R9 and directly participate in colour vision. These G + R– receptors frequently co-express the L opsin with the blue (B) or ultraviolet (U) opsin. U&L opsin-co-expressing R1&2 are scarce, while B&L co-expression is frequent in the ventral ommatidia and gradually diminishes towards the eye equator, where G + R– receptors express the L opsin only. In this region, G + R– receptors are further inhibited by blue-sensitive receptors. With electrophysiology matching immunohistochemistry, we reveal the fine tuning of spectral sensitivity of a single photoreceptor class across the dorso-ventral axis of the butterfly compound eye. Similar tuning is found in other nymphalid butterflies across the phylogeny, suggesting that this adaptation is ancestral and confers an advantage to those diurnal nymphalids, equipped with the cellular toolkit for colour vision in the red.

It's always a happy day when your PhD student, in this case, Andrew Dang, publishes another paper from their #dissertation. This paper describes an astonishing 15 different ommatidial types in this butterfly eye. Well-done Andy and team! #vision #colsci link.springer.com/article/10.1...

This has got to be the #colsci paper to end all #colsci papers! Huge congratulations to @wlallen.bsky.social and Iliana Medina for this monumental effort. 🤯 Chefs kiss 🤌🏽

😍 hardcore #colsci !

a blue lobster is walking on a wooden dock with a fishing rod in its mouth . ALT: a blue lobster is walking on a wooden dock with a fishing rod in its mouth .

Color variation and visual modeling provide no support for adaptive coloration in a blue crayfish
#ColSci #SexDifference #SizeDifference

doi.org/10.1093/behe...

Songbirds play optical tricks to make their feather colors ‘pop’ Concealed black or white bands on feathers boost the vibrancy of bird plumage

Pick an idiom: "more than meets the eye", "beauty more than skin [feather] deep" etc.

In work led by Rosalyn Price-Waldman, we describe a hidden (and ignored!) black or white layer found below the visible surface of bird feathers which helps make bird colours so striking!

🧪 🪶 #colsci

Hidden white and black feather layers enhance plumage coloration in tanagers and other songbirds Colorful songbirds use hidden white or black feather layers to enhance plumage color, an optical trick well known to artists.

Very nice study shows that hidden achromatic colours play a big role in plumage colour variation! #colsci

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Bluesky friends: Please add me to your starter pack. I am an biologist who studies #evolution and animal #behavior with interests in #colsci, #entomology, #butterflies, #books, #libraries, #writing, #reading, #history, #fossils, #archeology, #Mexico, #LatinAmerica, #art, #highered, & #teachers. 🙏

The pigment transporter Redboy confers programmed body colour transition in orchid mantises - Nature Ecology & Evolution First-instar orchid mantis nymphs avoid predators by mimicking black-red assassin bugs, whereas those in later instars avoid predators and attract prey by camouflaging themselves as lighter-coloured f...

"We name [this gene] Redboy based on its functional role in the programmed body colour transition of orchid mantis, reflecting the demon ‘Red Boy’ who changed his red clothes to white after becoming a fairy in Chinese mythology"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#evodevo #colsci

a group of birds are sitting on a tree branch with a bee on top of one of them ALT: a group of birds are sitting on a tree branch with a bee on top of one of them

Protocalliphora larvae: moderate but lasting carry-over effects on yearling and mother coloration
#Bird #Parasites #ColSci #LongTermStudy

doi.org/10.1093/behe...

For sea slugs, bright colours may warn off predators—but only in the daytime For sea slugs, bright colours may warn off predators—but only in the daytime.

Very honoured to have our research highlighted by this very well-written article by Weller & Rabosky. Thank you! 10/10, can recommend if you want a thorough take on what our latest paper is about: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #colsci

Ecological contexts shape sexual selection on male color morphs in wood tiger moths
#ColSci #Insect #Moth

doi.org/10.1093/behe...

#colsci

Diel activity correlates with colour pattern morphology of heterobranch sea slugs The authors show that daytime activity fundamentally shapes the appearance of prey animals to potential predators and that colour pattern phenotypes likely associated with visual signalling are predo....

It's out! Read about how to combine advanced animal vision modelling and colour pattern analysis with comparative phylogenetic methods in arguably some of the most incredible critters in the ocean: doi.org/10.1111/1365....
Amazing work with amazing people! #colsci #micaToolbox #AnimalEcology

Gracias por esta nota de prensa sobre nuestro último artículo, que incluye retrato de los hombres-lagarto iridiscentes de la UV!
Link: zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#colsci #herpetology #lizard #visualmodels #sensoryecology #spectrophotometry

Dynamic color change in the grouper Variola louti during interspecific interactions and swimming
#Fish #ColSci #SocialBehaviour

doi.org/10.1093/behe...

The correct link for the job application is:
collegedoctoral-cvl.fr/as/ed/voirpr...
@evoldir.bsky.social

#colsci #bugs #omics

Do you love bugs? Have you ever wondered what makes insects so colorful or how insects produce iridescence in their scales? Do you have a Masters degree?

If yes 😁, we are offering a fully-funded PhD position at IRBI (CNRS/UTours). Come join us!! Applications due 11 April 2025!
#ColSci #Bugs #omics

#colsci

'A Standardized Nomenclature for the
Rods and Cones of the Vertebrate
Retina' #colsci

www.preprints.org/manuscript/2...

BUG ALERT: Naive Bayes clustering in QCPA – Empirical Imaging

BUG ALERT: Naive Bayes clustering in QCPA

When using Naive Bayes clustering in <v2.3, the standard deviations instead of the means are used for downstream colour pattern analysis. For details & fix, read here: www.empiricalimaging.com/2025/02/05/b... #colsci

I wrote a thread on the main results. Please check it!
#colsci #colour #lizard #animalbehaviour #behavioralecology #science #animalcoloration #animalcommunication
bsky.app/profile/abal...

Look for #colsci with 🔍🔎

Who are the #colsci folks on here that I should follow?

Also considering making a starter pack (so let me know if I can add you :) )

🧪

#colsci