THE UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL ECOLOGY OF VISION RESEARCH GROUP
We are an internationally leading vision research group which focus on visually guided behaviours and the impacts of artificial light. We study how animal vision functions across a wide range of species, including crustaceans, insects, fish and cephalopods. A particular strength of the group is discovering new optical principles behind ways animals manipulate light and understanding how and why vision and animal optics have evolved.
Our research group consists of a mix of biologists, physicists and engineers. This allows us to successfully follow cross-disciplinary approaches in our research. A full list of current group members can be found here.
New Papers from the group:
Wainwright, J.B., Loupasaki, T., Ramirez, F., Penry-Williams, I.L., England, S.J., Barker, A., Meier, J., How, M.J., Roberts, N.W., Troscianko, J. and Montgomery, S.H., 2025. Mutualisms within light microhabitats drive sensory convergence in a mimetic butterfly community. PNAS 122 (29) e2422397122 DOI 10.1073/pnas.2422397122
Derup, C., Herbet-Read, J.E., and How, M.J. 2025. Motion After-Effects Induced by Dynamic Illumination in Crab Vision. Ecology and Evolution15:e71426. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71426
Santon, M., Troscianko, J., Heatubun, C. and How, M.J., 2025. Stealth and deception: adaptive motion camouflage in hunting broadclub cuttlefish. Science Advances, 11(13) DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr3686
Williams, S.T., Heyworth, S.M., Kano, Y., Roberts, N.W., Carter, H.F. and Cheney, K.L., 2025. The blue advantage: a novel blue carotenoprotein pigment in the tropical seastar Linckia laevigata is an antioxidant defence against extreme environmental stress. Marine Biology, 172(2), p.31.
How, M.J., van den Berg, C., Karcz, M., Heatubun, C. and Santon, M., 2025. Multiple hunting displays in wild broadclub cuttlefish. Ecology, 106(2), p.e70021.
Recent Papers from the group:
Field Work Sites where we do research:
Much of the research work we undertake is experimental field work. We use field sites in the Pyrenees, Spain, Panama and the coral reefs off Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The video below shows us heading out to Horseshoe Reef just off Lizard Island where we were setting up remote polarization cameras.
