Daniel Osorio studied zoology in England and neurobiology in Australia, and now teaches neuroscience, evolution and animal behaviour at Sussex University. His research centres on understanding how animals see colour, how they recognise the objects they encounter in their daily lives, and the evolutionary basis for these abilities. His studies encompass a variety of animals including butterflies, primates, birds and cephalopods. Daniel has studied cuttlefish for two decades. Their ability to control their appearance for camouflage gives unique insight into how a non-human species perceives pattern and form.
In addition, Daniel holds a patent for photographic colour measurement techniques based on theories of animal colour vision. He sits on the research Committee of the Biology and Biotechnology Research Council. He also has an interest in ethics and welfare; he is on the Ethics Committee of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, and of Merlin Entertainments (which owns many public aquaria and zoos), and is part of a team writing guidelines for the treatment of Cephalopods under the protection of the EU animal welfare legislation.