Gaze at the vivid yellows, blues, and psychedelic swirls of a single emperor angelfish and you'll sense the whimsy of evolution. Go on to explore its home in lush coral reefs and you'll soon hit sensory overload, assaulted by colors and patterns that range from sublime to garish. Coral reefs are unquestionably the world's most colorful places. But why? 

    瞧瞧那“皇帝神仙魚”(emperor angelfish)身上鮮艷的黃與藍，還有迷幻般的漩渦，你就能感受到生物進化的無奇不有了。繼續走進它所棲息的繁茂的珊瑚礁，你會馬上覺得感官超出負荷：由莊重到花俏的各式各樣色彩與圖案從四面圍攻而來。珊瑚礁無疑是世上色彩最豐富的地方，但為什么會這樣？

    For reasons known only to nature, color explodes across coral reefs, making them Earth's most vivid landscapes. Here in the shallows of a Fijian reef, brilliant soft corals wave in reds, pinks, and yellows as schools of fairy basslets FLASH orange and violet hues. The basslets' different colors aid in species identification, mate recognition, and even camouflage as individuals mass against the kaleidoscope of the reef. What humans see lighted by a photographer's bright strobe may look altogether different in natural light through the eyes of reef creatures. Scientists are now beginning to learn how wavelengths of light (and therefore color) change through water at different distances, and—more important—how fish see colors and what messages they might communicate.

    出于只有大自然才明白的理由，色彩在珊瑚礁各處蓬發，讓它們成為地球上最明艷的景觀。此處是斐濟一處珊瑚礁的淺灘，艷麗的軟珊瑚舞動在紅色、粉紅色與黃色之中，而成群的擬花鮨(fairy basslet)則閃耀著橘色和紫色的光輝。擬花鮨不同的顏色，有助于種群分辨和配偶識別。甚至當它們聚集在萬花筒般的珊瑚礁旁時，還能作為的保護色。人類透過攝影師的閃光燈所見到的，可能跟珊瑚礁生物的眼睛透過自然光所見完全不同。科學家現在開始了解，光的波長（也就是顏色）在穿透水中時，在不同距離如何改變，而──更重要的是──魚類如何看到色彩，而它們又可能溝通些什么樣的訊息。

    Bold horizontal bands of black, white, and yellow pop out on a well-lighted sweetlips (Plectorhinchus polytaenia) in Indonesia. The pattern and colors actually help distort the fish's outline when seen in natural light at a distance through water, helping the animal disappear from the view of potential predators. Nearby, a neon cleaner wrasse also wears stark stripes. These little fish eat parasites off the flesh and mouths of other fish. The wrasse's stripes may signal that it is a useful helper rather than a ready meal. Neon wrasses vary in coloration geographically. A yellow cast near the head (as shown here) indicates an Indonesian species; in Fiji many neon wrasses have a yellow blaze near the tail.

    在印度尼西亞，這條被照亮的多紋石鱸(Plectorhinchus polytaenia)身上大膽的黑、白、黃相間水平條紋蹦現了出來。其實，若是在自然光下、于水中一段距離外，這種圖案和色彩有助于扭曲魚的輪廓，讓它在潛在掠食者的視線中消失。旁邊，一只裂唇魚（neon cleaner wrasse）也是十足的條紋。這種小魚以其它魚類身上、口內的寄生蟲為食。它身上的條紋可能暗示它是有用的幫手，而非一頓餐點。隨地點不同，裂唇魚的色彩也會改變。靠近頭部有一抹黃色的（如圖）表示是印度尼西亞種類；在斐濟，許多裂唇魚在靠近尾巴的地方有黃色條紋。 

    The Pacific blue tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)—also known as the artist's pallette surgeonfish due to the shape of the dark patch on its body—was immortalized by the character Dory in the film Finding Nemo. Unlike that benignly daft creature, this real-life surgeonfish in Indonesia carries a sharp retractable blade of bone near the base of its tail. The tail's yellow blaze gives potential foes fair warning: Armed and dangerous.

    由于身上有深色斑塊，所以擬刺尾鯛（Paracanthurus hepatus）又名為“畫家調色盤醫生魚”，靠著電影《海底總動員》中的“多莉”一角而名垂不朽。跟那只瘋瘋癲癲的親切生物不同，印度尼西亞的這只正牌醫生魚在尾巴附近有一片能伸縮的鋒利骨片。尾巴上的黃色斑塊給予潛在敵人清楚的警告：有武裝，很危險！

    A leaf scorpionfish (Taenianotus triacanthus) scouts for errant fairy basslets in Fijian waters. This ambush predator can change its color to blend with its surroundings. It then lies still, waiting for prey to pass by. "We saw this fish pounce a couple of times," says photographer Tim Laman. "His mouth shot out and back in a fraction of a second."

    在斐濟的海中，一只三棘帶鲉(Taenianotus triacanthus)窺伺著一群誤入禁地的線鮨。三棘帶鲉是種善于偷襲的捕食動物，能夠改變身體顏色以融入環境。變色完成后，它就一動不動，等獵物經過。“我們見過這只魚的數次突襲，”攝影師提姆.雷曼說，“它的嘴一開一合僅需一瞬間。”

    A crescent-tailed bigeye (Priacanthus hamrur) seems to wear its emotions on its sleeve—or on its whole body. This sequence of three frames of the same fish shows how it can change from largely silver to striped to solid orange-red, a transformation that occurs in a matter of seconds. Pigment cells in its skin, called chromatophores, allow it to change color, but scientists don't yet know what each color pattern signifies. Sometimes a sudden shift in color can be used to startle potential predators or threaten intruders. Red light dissipates beyond about 30 feet (10 meters), so the reddish hue of this fish would appear black in deeper waters, allowing some deGREe of invisibility for this nocturnal hunter.

    寶石大眼鯛(Priacanthus hamrur)似乎把心情寫在臉上──或應該說是寫在身上。這條魚的連續三張照片顯示出它如何從幾乎通體銀色變成條紋、再變成純橘紅色，這轉變全發生在幾秒鐘之內。它皮膚上的色素細胞讓它能改變顏色，但科學家還不知道每種色彩圖案的意義。有時候，色彩的快速變換可以用來驚嚇掠食者或威脅入侵者。紅光在10公尺以下的深處就會消散，所以這條魚身上的紅色調會在較深處呈現黑色，讓這種夜行性獵食者在某種程度上能隱形。