Developing and adult reef fish show rapid light-induced plasticity in their visual system.

ABSTRACT: The visual capabilities of fish are optimized for their ecology and light environment over evolutionary time. Similarly, fish vision can adapt to regular changes in light conditions within their lifetime, e.g., ontogenetic or seasonal variation. However, we do not fully understand how vision responds to irregular short-term changes in the light environment, e.g., algal blooms and light pollution. In this study, we investigated the effect of short-term exposure to unnatural light conditions on opsin gene expression and retinal cell densities in juvenile and adult diurnal reef fish (convict surgeonfish; Acanthurus triostegus). Results revealed phenotypic plasticity in the retina across ontogeny, particularly during development. The most substantial differences at both molecular and cellular

SUBMITTER: Fogg LG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10099556 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature