what is the purpose of eye color?

I have been wondering this for a long time, and am asking you this.
what is the evolutionary purpose of eye color, and why do so many exist? is it at all related to survival?

 

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You mean "Why is the iris colored at all?" or "Why do humans have different eycolors?" ?

 

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I have no idea, but it's really interesting. Is it a sign of anything related to our body?

 

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I couldn't find anything on the 'purpose'.

Wiki says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_color#Genetic_determination_of_eye_color

Hey, red eyes are cool! Uff, but think about people with red eyes lived hundreds of years ago. "Demon! Kill it, kill it!"

 

The simplest reasoning is to be Darwinistic and look towards a different genus. take for instance birds, birds tend to have plumage for the most part, which can be patterned as well as colourful. This tends to exist to generate attention of the opposite sex, so they can find a mate.

you could suggest that perhaps eye colour works in a similar fashion and the variations are to attempt to generate different appeals. There is also a likelihood that compatible partners will attempt to look for particular traits they feel comfortable with, so they might see eye colour as want of those quantifying traits.

This as you can tell is common no matter the nationality, even if each nation has different cultures. Although some culture might see the eyes now as a secondary attraction and the womens breasts as the first. (Although they don't call a womens breasts "A gateway to the soul"... or should that be Gaze-away? )

 

The purpose of the iris is to limit the amount of ight that goes into the eye (letting in more light in dim illumination and less when there is a lot of light.). It does this by constricting in bright light and dilating in dim light. However, without pigmentation, the iris could not perform this function because the light would pass right thru it. This is why albinos are extremely photophobic. They have no pigment at all in their iris and light goes right thru it.

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Notice how this Albino child's eyes appear to be red because you're seeing a reflection of light off of his retina right thru his iris.

Now, any normal person has enough pigment (mostly on the back or posterior of the iris) to perform this funtion. Variations in eye color come from variations in the amount of pigment present in the anterior surface of the iris.

I would assume that any variations in pigmentation beyond that necesary for the iris to perform its function is "just for show" and serves as some kind of group identifier or mating display.

 

Mad Ant,

Do you know anything about light colored eyes able to get more vitamin D from (less)sunlight? Is that a myth?

 

Vitamin D is produced in the skin. People with light colored eyes also tend to be fair skinned, so there probably is a correlation.

 

yes

not only for mating but what to eat

just a tid bit , birds and fish , generally have more colour receptors than we Humans

 

WTF?

Colour OF eyes, not colour discernment.

 

WTF , what ?

 

no discernment

astonsihing at it may seem , it is true

 

here is a question, why do some peoples eye colours change?

My sister used to say hers did based on her mood and i dont belive that but her eye colour DOES change from time to time and its not just the light shes in

 

but does her colour perception change ?

 

err i doubt it. Thats related to the retiner not the iris

 

Colobus monkeys for example pass by the greenery of the forest and only seek out reddish leaves to eat

while chimps , lower down , seek out ripe yellow and red fruits

so colour distinction is important for eating

 

i dont belive i said that colour distintion WASNT important, what i said was that the iris didnt control that the back of the eye does

 

so.. your point , then

 

The point is that your comments about about colour discernment/ distinction are NOTHING to do with the topic.

 

why ?