What Fish See, the book, worth the $2.

[Benjo]

Got my book today, thanks Dr. Bill. Interesting read and made sense out of some things.

[Jackster]

I received the book also. Human eyes and the eyes of fish appear to be structured totally different. The doctor assumes the fish see exactly as we or a camera does. Personally, I ain't buying it.

[Battenkill Jim]

Here read this that I found.
VERY scientific terms....maybe someone can understand SOME of it??
I had a hard time!

Can someone translate this to english for us?

[url=http://www.aims.gov.au/pages/research/fish/fisheyes/fisheyes01.html:46c98]http://www.aims.gov.au/pages/research/fish/fisheyes/fisheyes01.html[/url:46c98]

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Jim Bolden Sr

I caught a Fish so big once I couldn't weigh it.
Took a picture of it and the picture weighed 20LBS! (My Dad)




[This message has been edited by Battenkill Jim (edited 08 March 2005).]

[BigFlatBrook]

Jackster,

I haven't read the book. I do know that fish eyes are structured differently. No matter how eyes are structured, the physicical laws governing light still apply. The two different eye structures solve the same problem in different ways.

I also think that analogies to cameras in explaining how these things work are appropriate as well.

[BigFlatBrook]

Jim,

I understand some of it.

People can only see light within a certain range of wavelengths. Violet has the shortest wavelength (about 400 nanometers) and Red has the longest wavelength (about 700 nanometers).

On the other hand, based on that paper, it seems that some fish are able to see light in the ultraviolet range (below 400 nanometers). Ultraviolet light is non-visible to humans.

I would conclude that the color "experience" of fish might be different from that of humans.

I believe light in the ultraviolet range penetrates deeper into the water than visible light -- because ultraviolet light has a shorter wavelength. So there could be some adaptive value for fish being able to see in that range.

I think it's pretty interesting.

[Battenkill Jim]

Ok dumb question to all this.....do they really see colors?

I know deer see black and white.
I used to laugh when they came out with plain blaze orange. Heck on a day when there little to no snow on the ground a person looks like a big WHITE mass.
Stick out like a sore thumb to a deer!
Of course now they have camo blaze orange which is much better.
Just struck me funny back then.

------------------
Jim Bolden Sr

I caught a Fish so big once I couldn't weigh it.
Took a picture of it and the picture weighed 20LBS! (My Dad)

[BigFlatBrook]

I would say that fish *do* see color. They have receptors that are differentially receptive to light at different wavelengths.
That is the basis for color vision.

Now you know I'm just a geek that fly fishes a little.

[MPW]

Dr. Bill,

Received my book about a week ago.
Really enjoyed it alot.

Thanks, and keep us posted on anything
else you come up with.


------------------
**MW**

[Rick Z]

I can tell you that the calculations are right on. I did them just for the heck of it, not a distrust of the author.

The eyes may be structured differently but the light reaches the cornea(anterior surface) the same way for either of us. I think that is the point of the book. How fish use the light is another discussion.

Rick