Page 98 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #02

Q Q Q Q A
Q&
THE PANEL
THE P ANEL

MATT DOGGETT
Marine biolog gist

SARAH MCPHERSON
Q&A editor
LVE YOUR MYSTERIES. MORE AMAZING
FACTS AT WWW.DISCOVERWILDLIFE.COM

MICHAEL ENGELHARD Q MARINE BIOLOGY
Author and wildlife g guide
How and why

LIZ KALAUGHER do seahorses
ogic
uthor
L
urry
F
o
f
Author of Furry Logic
A
change colour?
HELEN SCALES Many fish have the ability to
Marine biologist change colour and do so for all
sorts of reasons. Seahorses change
colour to mimic their surroundings
when hiding from predators or
prey (sudden, bold changes in
STUART BLACKMAN appearance may even deter their
er
writ
e
S Science writer
cienc
enemies), and to communicate
during courtship displays and
territorial disputes.
Like other fish, seahorses change
colour using small, sack-like
AMY-JANE BEER organs known as chromatophores,
Naturalist and author Seahorse: Wild Wonders of Europe/Zankl/NPL; elephant: Francois Savigny/NPL; seal: Andrey Nekrasov/Alamy; owl: Jenny E. Ross/NPL
which are embedded in their skin.
Each chromatophore contains
one of three or four pigments.
Expansion or contraction of the
chromatophores via tiny muscles
MIKE TOMS
Ornithologist t results in different colours being
rnithologis
O
displayed with varying intensity.
Chromatophores are controlled
in two ways: by the nervous system
(when rapid camouflage is required
for predator avoidance) and by
JAMES FAIR
edit
vir
onment
n
Environment editoror hormones (during courtship and
E
breeding). The latter causes a
slower, more controlled change,
often to a brighter, less subtle hue.
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