Anemonefish have finer color discrimination in the ultraviolet

Abstract

In many animals, ultraviolet (UV) vision guides navigation, foraging, and communication, but few studies have addressed the contribution of UV vision to color discrimination, or behaviorally assessed UV discrimination thresholds. Here, we tested UV-color vision in an anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) using a novel five-channel (RGB-V-UV) LED display designed to test UV perception. We first determined that the maximal sensitivity of the A. ocellaris UV cone was at [~]386 nm using microspectrophotometry. Three additional cone spectral sensitivities had maxima at [~]497, 515, and [~]535 nm, which together informed the modelling of the fishs color vision. Anemonefish behavioral discrimination thresholds for nine sets of colors were determined from their ability to distinguish a colored target pixel from grey distractor pixels of varying intensity. We found that A. ocellaris used all four cones to process color information and is therefore tetrachromatic, and fish were better at discriminating colors (i.e., color discrimination thresholds were lower, or more acute) when targets had UV chromatic contrast elicited by greater stimulation of the UV cone relative to other cone types. These findings imply that a UV component of color signals and cues improves their detectability, that likely increases the salience of anemonefish body patterns used in communication and the silhouette of zooplankton prey.