There are many aspects of animals that are similar to us humans, such as the way they react to certain chemicals in drugs, their reproduction processes, how they fight for survival like humans do. Wouldn’t one just assume that the way they see color is also similar? But in actuality, it’s different.
Humans have three types of color-sensing cone cells in the eyes which are each sensitive to the different wavelengths of light. These cells are responsible for color vision, the light waves reflected off the object that the person is looking at and hit the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye which allows these photoreceptor cones to produce a color in response to that light. Most other mammals only have two types of cone cells and some birds even have four - meaning that they can see more of a range of colors than even humans can.
Some researchers at Duke University were curious to whether or not animals see the colors of fruits differently compared to humans would. Do they see the green apples are green apples, are they capable of seeing a rotten fruit turn brown, or can they see that there are even different color grapes or berries? These researchers looked into how different fruits grown in different areas can have different colors, and how that would affect the diets of different species living in those areas.
At the end of this research they did, they simply found that animal dispersers helped with the evolution of fruit colors in different areas. How tropical fruits grown in warmer regions are mostly brighter colors such as yellow, orange, red. They also found that birds seem to eat more fruits that are red, because it is easier to spot out against green foliage from above as they are flying. These researchers do plan on doing further analysis on how fruit traits can affect the visions of humans and animals.
It seems like any species would go for a fruit, or any food at all, that seems appealing to them and is not too far out of reach for them to retrieve. Everyone is just trying to survive on this planet, so they do what’s best for them while scavenging for food sources.
Source: How fruits got their eye-catching colors
Posted By "Han Nguyen" (3)
I knew that humans and animals could see different colors but I never knew that it was able to be tested before. This is neat information to see which colors animals actually see because as of now it really is up to interpretation. I hope there is more research done so that we can find out more definitively.
ReplyDeletePosted by Danielle Bermingham
i never knew that birds choose bright color and especially red as a favorite fruit. It says because it is easier to see when they are flying but what about the taste and the food source, if another fruit that has a dark color is a better source of food, would he bird still eat it?
ReplyDeletePosted by Jad Imad
It is certainly an interesting topic, how no species of organism experiences the world in the same way! Sight is not the only thing that can vary between species. Many species hear in different frequency ranges, as well as have unique sensory organs. This means no two species are seeing, hearing, or even feeling the world in the same way! In fact, some individuals within species can experience the world differently, too. It has been discovered relatively recently that some humans (women exclusively) have tetrachromatic vision, meaning they possess not only 3, but 4 types of cone cells in the eye! Because of this, they are able to see the world in a completely different color spectrum.
ReplyDeletePosted by: Hayley Fecko
It is definitely really interesting how there can be so many different species in the whole world and they can all be so different. I'm starting to wonder how if they actually taste the fruits differently as well.
DeleteDefinitely an interesting topic. I had no idea that some birds have four photoreceptor cones. That brings a lot of things into perspective. Are we even seeing the colors we think we are, just because we are unable to see a whole other end of the color spectrum? Very interesting thought.
ReplyDeletePosted by Josha Cruz
It is a very interesting topic. As I know from other courses, human shares homologue in eyes with other organisms. The basic components of eyes of different species are very same (pigment cells, photoreceptors, opsins), and the gene that controls eye development is the same one (pax 6). I am very impressed by the fact that different species could evolved to acquire such a wide range of eye types in response to natural selection via the variations of such limited materials. And the study of the different eyes of different species can help us know more about the interactions among different species and their evolutionary relationships.
ReplyDeleteReplied by Muchen Liu
I totally agree that studies like these are very fascinating and I feel as though they are very useful, because as a planet as a whole, we should all be able to understand the perceptions of one another. Species should live as equal as they are all made on this planet, so if humans can study other species a little better, they can understand how to help these other species live on and we can all grow together.
DeleteI love this! I'm not surprised that species like birds or insects might perceive a wider range of colors than humans. After all, they are the more important pollinators and plants develop an attractive array of colors in their fruits and flowers to attract them. In a way, this is a cool example of co-evolution; Flowers and fruits, and subsequently, the pollinators.
ReplyDelete- Posted by Priya Bikkani
I wonder if insects and other animals that are smaller than us see of these fruits as "giants" similar to how they would view us humans as creatures that are enormous compared to them. It was definitely interesting to find out that birds can actually see a wider range of colors than humans do, because people are always talking about how humans are the most advanced species, but this is something that birds naturally have.
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