'Ugly' fish more likely to be endangered

A study from the University of Montpellier in France has described the aesthetic value of 2,416 reef fish species for the first time. The study shows that fish rated as less aesthetically pleasing are more in need of conservation support — and that they may be less likely to get it. The mandarin fish (pictured) is not one of them though. It actually has a high aesthetic value.

"Most of the fish that people find not beautiful are drab fish with an elongated body shape and no clearly delineated color patterns," said lead study author and ecologist Nicolas Mouquet. Mouquet said that some of the less attractive fish include the white steenbras (pictured), the bluefish and the bocaccio rockfish.

The highest aesthetic values related to the quality and diversity in color of a fish, the saturation of its colors and the presence of well-delineated and repeated patterns. A circular body shape, said researcher Nicolas Mouquet, was ranked higher than long bodies. The bocaccio rockfish (pictured), for instance, has an elongated shape and was found to be less aesthetically pleasing to humans.

"For instance, high color heterogeneity (quality) and well-delineated patches of contrasted lightness, as observed in angelfish and butterflyfish, makes them pleasant to [people]," Mouquet told DW.

Mouquet said that fish aesthetics — what we consider beautiful or ugly — does not always lead to biases in support for or against conservation. But, Mouquet noted, "as we found that less beautiful fish were more in need of conservation, there is a need for us to make sure that our 'natural' aesthetic biases do not turn into a bias in conservation efforts."