Ecology of Colour Vision Lab

The main theme of the Ecology of Colour Vision lab’s research is the relationship between colour vision systems and colourful patterns of plant and animals.

We use psychophysical methods to study colour vision of man and animals. To understand the ecological significance of diversity of colour vision systems, Dr Vorobyev combines mathematical modelling with measuring spectra of biologically important objects – flowers, fruits, birds’ plumage and fish skin.

Plants often use brightly coloured flowers to advertise a reward of nectar and pollen to insects and birds that pollinate them. Birds use colourful plumage to attract mates. Similarly, colourful patterns of fish skin are used to communicate with other fish. Animals also use coloured patterns to protect themselves. A coloured pattern may help conceal or disguise an animal, or advertise that it is toxic.

To look at objects through animal eyes, we use mathematical modelling and encode the signals of animal photoreceptors using Blue, Green and Red primaries of a computer monitor. The figure shows a fish as it is seen through the eyes of a fish. Light is absorbed and scattered in water. Therefore fish colours depend on direction and distance from which they are viewed.

While colour is described as a set of photoreceptors signals, colour perception depends on importance of a colour in a certain context and on emotional state of a human being or an animal. We model colour perception taking into account ‘high level’ processing. To establish the relationship between colour perception, context of colour and emotions we perform psychophysical experiments.