Cuttlefish use polarization sensitivity in predation on silvery fish

Cephalopods are sensitive to the linear polarization characteristics of light. To examine if this polarization sensitivity plays a role in the predatory behavior of cuttlefish, we examined the preference of Sepia officinalis when presented with fish whose polarization reflection was greatly reduced versus fish whose polarization reflection was not affected. Cuttlefish preyed preferably on fish with normal polarization reflection over fish that did not reflect linearly polarized light (n = 24, chi(2) = 17.3, P < 0.0001), implying that polarization sensitivity is used during predation. We suggest that polarization vision is used to break the countershading camouflage of light-reflecting silvery fish. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.