A group of British scientists has concluded thatsardines and herring have an optical mechanism in the skinthat allows them to adjust their reflections to the environment andescape from predators like this. Specifically, it is about layers of guanine crystals on your skin that work as reflectors of light. The study, published in the journal Nature Photonics and echoed by the SINC agency, is useful for the development and improvement of optical instruments such as LED headlights and fiber optics.
Specifically, this phenomenon has been observed inthe silver skin of three species of fish: Sardina pilchardusla or European sardine,Clupea harengusor Atlantic herring and theSpratus spratus. “We believe that sardines and herring have developed this optical structure to hide from predators, such as dolphins and tuna,” the researchers explain. They take advantage of and maximize their reflective capacity at all angles and it serves to camouflage themselves in the light field located underwater.
Thelight polarizationIt is “a phenomenon that fishermen and photographers, when working in watery spaces, overcome by using glasses or polarized filters that cut off their reflections,” explains Tom Jordan, of the Center for Complexity Sciences at the University of Bristol, in England. British researchers have shown that silverfish “are capable of avoiding the phenomenon, which allows them to increase their reflective capacity,” they explain.
These types of optical mechanisms are common in nature, where there are different reflective surfaces that polarize light, that is, they modify light rays so that they cannot be reflected back in certain directions.
The so-called “multilayer reflectors”, among which are those crystals from the skin of fish, are used by some animals to createiridescent signs-that shine or produce sparkles- with whichcommunicate, camouflage and also as reflectors to increase sensitivity to low light.
Today there are? Many modern devices such as LED lights and fiber optics that use non-polarizing reflectors to improve their efficiency. ? Knowing the optical properties of silverfish skin may be key to developing better optical devices ,? concludes Jordan.
