 This inspired him to join the National Institute of Oceanography in 1966 as a marine biologist.There, he investigated the coloration of animals in the deep sea, and their bioluminescence, relating its ecology and physiology to the colour vision of other animals.One aspect of this was underwater camouflage, where prey need to conceal themselves from the vision of their predators; since as Herring noted, there is no background in the sea, the methods of camouflage employed are often different from those on land