Colours at Nocturnal

Lab members Amanda, Laura, and Caroline had a great time presenting on the function, production, and perception of structural and pigment-based coloration at Nocturnal, Melbourne Museum’s monthly after hours public event with live music and science talks. They used a dazzling array of museum specimens including bird-of-paradise, hummingbirds, jewel beetles, and Christmas beetles to demonstrate the dynamic angle-dependent nature of structural coloration. The team also collated a series of videos of stunning footage of animal displays, and colouration – check out them out here!

Slightly macabre, but striking example of angle dependent coloration in the bird of paradise specimen:

 
– Caroline Dong, Laura Ospina Rozo and Amanda Franklin