Lily Feinberg-Eddy. Evolution of Color in Plants and Animals

Summary

In many species of fish, organisms in the same population are often different color variants. Scientist wondered why one color did not replace the other eventually through natural selection. Scientists examined the red devil cichlid fish which can be a darker grey color (which is more abundant) or a more gold color (which is dominant). The darker fish can change the shade of their color and their patterns to best match their environment. The scientists wanted to discover whether this was why the gold fish was rare but why both fish were still present in the population. By analyzing the fishes’ ability to change color over dark and light surfaces, the researchers found that the darker fish could also change its brightness to match its’ background. Because color variation in species is so complex, a lot more tests must be done to determine why there are color variations within populations. However, the researchers say that the ability of the darker fish to change their brightness, may be key in understanding why there are more of them in a population than the gold fish.

Relevance

In class, we have studied evolution and the process of natural selection in which organisms that are best adapted to their environments survive and are able to pass on their favorable genes to the next generation whereas organisms that are worse suited to their environment die out and are not able to pass on their unfavorable traits. This often leads to organisms in one population looking more or less the same. However, these fish do not which means that both color variants must have traits that are well suited to the same environment.

Article:

Monash University. "Devil is in the detail: Evolution of color in plants and animals." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 January 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150109093727.htm>.