“Smoke and mirrors”…how fish escape being someone’s dinner (12-19-20)

Ever wonder why fish are so hard to see in the water? Well, here’s a nifty article from the Wall Street Journal that focuses on fish scales and their role in helping fish escape predation. Turns out that fish scales are quite complex in their structure and capable of reflecting light that matches the color of their watery environment. This property allows fish to blend into their surroundings quite well. You may ask: “What about fish that live in the depths of the ocean where there’s very little light?” The scales of these fish are made of a different substance that absorbs, rather than reflecting, light. These fish elude predation by matching their black backgrounds. All very interesting.

Click here for the WSJ article.