Chromatophores and Color Change in Killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus)

 

Seung M. Hong and Malcolm H. Taylor

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2005, Volume 26

Abstract

This exercise was designed to have students 1) observe a physiological color change in whole organisms, and 2) correlate the color change (in vivo) with the responses occurring at the cellular level (in vitro), especially in dermal melanophores. The color change process is relatively fast (30- 45 min) in killifish subjected to a black background, and the time course can be quantified using a simple color index of 1 – 5. Dermal melanophores are very large and the degree of melanin dispersion can be easily determined under the dissecting microscope (Hogben and Slome, 1931). This pre-designed experiment was used as a pilot study prior to a subsequent series of studentdesigned experiments with an emphasis on mechanisms of physiological color change in animals.

Keywords:  melanophore

Bowling Green State University, Ohio (2004)