Is there any difference (advantage - disadvantage) between different eye colors?

Question

Like, do people in the North who have blue eyes have any advantage in sight, over darker eyed people in the North?

Does it have to do with the spectrum they see?

Answer 1

Keep in mind that the colour is on the OUTSIDE of the eye. It is due to pigments in the tissues involved... and most pigments have a lot more to do with how other creatures see you than with how you can see other creatures.

The one exception, of course, is albinism. Some albinoes have a defect that interferes with the photosensitive proteins on the insides of their eyes as well as the pigments on other parts of their bodies. But that's a special case (and usually a big disadvantage!).

I've only seen two kinds of scientific studies regarding eye colour. One is a correlative study - in other words, it suggests that people with blue eyes see better in the dark, but not that having blue eyes CAUSES this. And if few blue-eyed people live on the equator and many near the north pole, this is no real surprise.

Another study developed a theory about WHY people would have coloured eyes instead of just brown (as most apes do). They thought that perhaps the reason for this was that eyes are more visible on humans than apes because humans don't have dark-coloured faces. To test this theory, they tested whether newborn human and ape babies looked more at eyes or head position to see what an adult was looking at. Sure enough, even babies instinctively looked at eyes for humans and heads for apes. (link 1)

If this theory is true, it would suggest a reason why dark-skinned people on the equator don't have coloured eyes while light-skinned people much more often do. It would also suggest that having coloured eyes is actually an evolutionary advantage, so over the next few million years perhaps we might see all non-coloured eyes go away, even though it is genetically a dominant feature.

Answer 2

Nope. There is no difference in the spectrum people see based on their eye color. Eye color is genetic and does not affect anything else. Technically, it's only the color of your iris so it's not even an "eye" color.

Answer 3

I remember reading some differences by color...

Light eyes have a different balance of rods and cones, so they are more sensitive to bright lights, and have better night vision.

Darker eyes have a different balance as well, and can have decreased night vision but be more easily adjustable to brightness.

Answer 4

mammalian (human) eye color is the color of the iris. the iris is the contractile ring around the pupil that regulates how much light enters the eye. there is no evidence to suggest eye color affects fitness. in other words there is not evidence for any advantageous effects of eye color in human populations.

those individuals who said eye color correlates with the rod-cone ratios in the eye are wrong; the the rods and cones localize to the back of the eye ball while the iris is the contractile ring at the front of the eye around the pupil. there is no correlation between eye color in the front of the eye and the rods and cones in the back of the eye.

Answer 5

I have always been told that people with blue eyes are more sensitive to light. I have blue eyes, and I can tell you that it's true, at least for me.

Answer 6

They see no different, unless they have actual eye problems. It's completely genetic. But they say green eyes are the hardest to get, I'm gladI have them.

Answer 7

my world geography teacher told me people with darker eyes can see better during the night. not like night vision, but very very slightly.

Answer 8

No there is not.

Answer 9

No ~