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Published online 1 October 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.1144
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What you see is how you evolve
Differences in vision could give rise to new species.
What fish see — at least in one African lake — could be the driving force that causes them to evolve into new species.
Evolutionary science typically holds that new species are born when populations become isolated from one another, forcing them to adapt differently.
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very interesting exposition. enjoyed the research finds and conclusions. Thanks
"In shallow parts, blue light is dominant... As the water deepens, red light becomes increasingly dominant" This wouldn't be a typo, would it? In nearly every lake I've ever heard about, and certainly in oceans, exactly the opposite happens (as you can tell by looking at underwater photos taken without flash). It takes an unusual kind of lake (perhaps one with a high concentration of tannin, as in some northern bogs) for red to dominate at depths--and where this happens, the light cutoff is usually quite shallow, because what light the tannin doesn't block, the water itself does.