News by Swasti Sharma
Sydney, Oct 16: Gobi is a small, bottom-dwelling fish found all over the world. They constitute 35% of the total fish on coral reefs in Australia. They are the only fish that can camouflage (change their colour) to avoid detection by predators. Recently, researchers have found out that they change their colour faster and better when alone than when they are in groups. This happens because lone fish are more vulnerable to be attacked by predators. They feel calmer and more secure in groups and have less need to hide and this is known as ‘social buffering’. Researchers collected gobies and tested them in labs by conducting experiments. They kept the Gobi alone and in pairs against black and white backgrounds and measured the RGB values (a mathematical model for measuring colour using red, green, and blue light). They found that when they are alone they were able to match their background much more closely and did so more quickly than when they were kept in pairs.
