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She was astounded by the dynamic beauty of surfperch in the kelp forest: the way they communicate through the color and brightness of their skin, flashing blue, silver and orange to attract mates.

Meanwhile, the surfperch Embiotoca lateralis, which dwells in the densest and dimmest regions of the kelp forest have different eye anatomies.

The researchers also found traces of small marine mammals, along with rockfish, sculpin, surfperch as well as herring and/or sardine.

For several years, she studied various species of surfperch, repeatedly diving in the kelp forests with a Plexiglas-protected spectrometer to quantify and characterize the light in different habitats.

In her studies, Cummings showed that surfperch living in dim or murky waters generally preferred shiny ornaments, while surfperch inhabiting zones of mercurial brightness favored bold colors.