Comparative Physiology of Vision in Molluscs

Pupil dilation and constriction in the skate Leucoraja erinacea in a simulated natural light field

The skate Leucoraja erinacea has an elaborately shaped pupil, whose characteristics and functions have received little attention. The goal of our study was to investigate the pupil response in relation to natural ambient light intensities. First, we took a recently developed sensory–ecological approach, which gave us a tool for creating a controlled light environment for behavioural work: during a field survey, we collected a series of calibrated natural habitat images from the perspective of the skates' eyes. From these images, we derived a vertical illumination profile using custom-written software for quantification of the environmental light field (ELF). After collecting and analysing these natural light field data, we created an illumination set-up in the laboratory, which closely simulated the natural vertical light gradient that skates experience in the wild and tested the light responsiveness – in particular the extent of dilation – of the skate pupil to controlled changes in this simulated light field. Additionally, we measured pupillary dilation and constriction speeds. Our results confirm that the skate pupil changes from nearly circular under low light to a series of small triangular apertures under bright light. A linear regression analysis showed a trend towards smaller skates having a smaller dynamic range of pupil area (dilation versus constriction ratio around 4-fold), and larger skates showing larger ranges (around 10- to 20-fold). Dilation took longer than constriction (between 30 and 45 min for dilation; less than 20 min for constriction), and there was considerable individual variation in dilation/constriction time. We discuss our findings in terms of the visual ecology of L. erinacea and consider the importance of accurately simulating natural light fields in the laboratory.

Elaborate pupils in skates may help camouflage the eye

The skate Leucoraja erinacea is a bottom-dweller that buries into the substrate with its eyes protruding, revealing elaborately shaped pupils. It has been suggested that such pupil shapes may camouflage the eye, yet this has never been tested. Here, we asked whether skate pupils dilate or constrict depending on background spatial frequency. In experiment 1, the skates' pupillary response to three artificial checkerboards of different spatial frequencies was recorded. Results showed that pupils did not change in response to spatial frequency. In experiment 2, in which skates buried into three natural substrates of different spatial frequencies, such that their eyes protruded, pupils showed a subtle but statistically significant response to changes in substrate spatial frequency. Although light intensity is the primary factor determining pupil dilation, our results show that pupils also change depending on the spatial frequency of natural substrates, which suggests that pupils may aid in camouflaging the eye.

DO IMAGE-FORMING EYES PROMOTE EVOLUTIONARY DIVERSIFICATION?

It has been suggested that image-forming eyes promote the evolutionary diversification (measured by species richness) of the groups that possess them. Several different processes could give rise to this effect, including diversifying selection in a new adaptive zone (or zones) and a reduced rate of extinction due to enhanced competitive abilities. I tested the generality of the hypothesis that imaging eyes increase net speciation by comparing extant species numbers of 12 groups that have such eyes (as categorized by Land and Fernald 1992) with those of their cladistic sister groups that lack such organs. Even assuming the published hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships that most favor increased net speciation of visual groups, these comparisons show no significant association between imaging eyes and species richness. Increased activity, as indicated by published accounts of locomotory speed, is significantly associated with the evolution of image-forming eyes. This suggests that a large "visual adaptive zone" might be characterized by relatively high activity. However, when diversity comparisons are limited to eight cases in which the evolution of imaging eyes is associated with increased activity, there is still no significant association between such eyes and species richness. The fossil record indicates that the only visual groups that have undergone major evolutionary radiations evolved imaging eyes early in the history of metazoans (before the Silurian). The radiations of these early groups may have largely filled up niches for visual animals and thus prevented the subsequent proliferation of other groups with image-forming eyes. Alternatively, it may be that image-forming eyes have no exceptional effect on diversification or that their effects are obscured by other factors in the long run.

High e-vector acuity in the polarisation vision system of the fiddler crab Uca vomeris

Polarisation vision is used by a variety of species in many important tasks, including navigation and orientation (e.g. desert ant), communication and signalling (e.g. stomatopod crustaceans), and as a possible substitute for colour vision (e.g. cephalopod molluscs). Fiddler crabs are thought to possess the anatomical structures necessary to detect polarised light, and occupy environments rich in polarisation cues. Yet little is known about the capabilities of their polarisation sense. A modified polarisation-only liquid crystal display and a spherical rotating treadmill were combined to test the responses of fiddler crabs to moving polarisation stimuli. The species Uca vomeris was found to be highly sensitive to polarised light and detected stimuli differing in e-vector angle by as little as 3.2 deg. This represents the most acute behavioural sensitivity to polarised light yet measured for a crustacean. The occurrence of null points in their discrimination curve indicates that this species employs an orthogonal (horizontal/vertical) receptor array for the detection of polarised light.

The pupillary response of cephalopods

This paper provides the first detailed description of the time courses of light-evoked pupillary constriction for two species of cephalopods, Sepia officinalis (a cuttlefish) and Eledone cirrhosa (an octopus). The responses are much faster than hitherto reported, full contraction in Sepia taking less than 1 s, indicating it is among the most rapid pupillary responses in the animal kingdom. We also describe the dependence of the degree of pupil constriction on the level of ambient illumination and show considerable variability between animals. Furthermore, both Sepia and Eledone lack a consensual light-evoked pupil response. Pupil dilation following darkness in Sepia is shown to be very variable, often occurring within a second but at other times taking considerably longer. This may be the result of extensive light-independent variations in pupil diameter in low levels of illumination.

Cephalopod chromatophores: neurobiology and natural history

The chromatophores of cephalopods differ fundamentally from those of other animals: they are neuromuscular organs rather than cells and are not controlled hormonally. They constitute a unique motor system that operates upon the environment without applying any force to it. Each chromatophore organ comprises an elastic sacculus containing pigment, to which is attached a set of obliquely striated radial muscles, each with its nerves and glia. When excited the muscles contract, expanding the chromatophore; when they relax, energy stored in the elastic sacculus retracts it. The physiology and pharmacology of the chromatophore nerves and muscles of loliginid squids are discussed in detail. Attention is drawn to the multiple innervation of dorsal mantle chromatophores, of crucial importance in pattern generation. The size and density of the chromatophores varies according to habit and lifestyle. Differently coloured chromatophores are distributed precisely with respect to each other, and to reflecting structures beneath them. Some of the rules for establishing this exact arrangement have been elucidated by ontogenetic studies. The chromatophores are not innervated uniformly: specific nerve fibres innervate groups of chromatophores within the fixed, morphological array, producing 'physiological units' expressed as visible 'chromatomotor fields'. The chromatophores are controlled by a set of lobes in the brain organized hierarchically. At the highest level, the optic lobes, acting largely on visual information, select specific motor programmes (i.e. body patterns); at the lowest level, motoneurons in the chromatophore lobes execute the programmes, their activity or inactivity producing the patterning seen in the skin. In Octopus vulgaris there are over half a million neurons in the chromatophore lobes, and receptors for all the classical neurotransmitters are present, different transmitters being used to activate (or inhibit) the different colour classes of chromatophore motoneurons. A detailed understanding of the way in which the brain controls body patterning still eludes us: the entire system apparently operates without feedback, visual or proprioceptive. The gross appearance of a cephalopod is termed its body pattern. This comprises a number of components, made up of several units, which in turn contains many elements: the chromatophores themselves and also reflecting cells and skin muscles. Neural control of the chromatophores enables a cephalopod to change its appearance almost instantaneously, a key feature in some escape behaviours and during agonistic signalling. Equally important, it also enables them to generate the discrete patterns so essential for camouflage or for signalling. The primary function of the chromatophores is camouflage. They are used to match the brightness of the background and to produce components that help the animal achieve general resemblance to the substrate or break up the body's outline. Because the chromatophores are neurally controlled an individual can, at any moment, select and exhibit one particular body pattern out of many. Such rapid neural polymorphism ('polyphenism') may hinder search-image formation by predators. Another function of the chromatophores is communication. Intraspecific signalling is well documented in several inshore species, and interspecific signalling, using ancient, highly conserved patterns, is also widespread. Neurally controlled chromatophores lend themselves supremely well to communication, allowing rapid, finely graded and bilateral signalling.

The linearly polarized light field in clear, tropical marine waters: spatial and temporal variation of light intensity, degree of polarization and e-vector angle

Sensitivity to polarized light is widespread among marine animals, including crustaceans, cephalopods and some fishes. They use this ability to orient and find prey, and possibly for a number of other visual tasks. Unlike the ultraviolet-sensitive polarization receptors of most insects, the polarization receptors of marine invertebrates tend to be maximally sensitive near 500nm, suggesting that polarized light in water differs from that in air. The underwater field of partially linearly polarized light has been studied for nearly 50 years, but data are still limited and sparse. We measured the submarine polarized light field from 350 to 600nm throughout the day on a coral reef in the Florida Keys at a depth of 15m using the underwater laboratory Aquarius as a research platform. Our results show that the angle of polarization as viewed along any given line of sight at this depth is a relatively simple function of solar position and that the degree of polarization is greatest 60–90° from the sun. Both e-vector angle and degree of polarization vary only slightly with wavelength, although light is sometimes less polarized in the ultraviolet. Since light is most intense at medium wavelengths and polarization is nearly maximal at these wavelengths, invertebrate polarization photoreceptors are spectrally well placed. Also, the relative spectral constancy of the angle and degree of polarization supports fish polarization sensitivity, which relies on spectrally diverse photoreceptor sets.

Demonstration of a rhodopsin-retinochrome system in the stalk eye of a marine gastropod, Onchidium, by immunohistochemistry

The stalk eye of Onchidium sp. (Gastropoda, Mollusca) is the principal photoreceptor in a multiple photoreceptive system that consists of the stalk and dorsal eyes, dermal photoreceptor cells, and photosensitive neurons. To examine the localization of photopigments, the stalk eyes were immunostained with specific antibodies to rhodopsin, retinochrome, and retinal-binding protein (RALBP), which had been generated against squid retinal proteins. The retina of the stalk eye was divided into villous, pigmented, somatic, and neural layers. It was comprised mainly of two types of visual and pigmented supportive cells. The type 1 visual (VC1) cell was characterized by well-developed microvilli on its apical protrusion and photic vesicles in the cytoplasm. The photic vesicles were specifically blackened by prolonged osmification. The type 2 visual (VC2) cell had less numerous, shorter microvilli on its concave apical surface and lacked photic vesicles. The anti-squid rhodopsin antiserum was localized specifically to the villous layer that corresponded to the VC1 microvilli. With the anti-retinochrome peptide antibody, the somatic layer showed specific but patchy, positive staining that corresponded to the cytoplasm of the VC1 cells. Because the photic vesicles are known to contain retinochrome, these results indicate that this retinochrome is localized in the VC1 cytoplasm. Anti-RALBP antibody stained the supranuclear cytoplasm to the distal cytoplasm of VC1 cells. This is the first demonstration of the localization of RALBP in the Gastropoda Onchidium stalk eye. In squid retina that were immunostained as positive controls, the anti-rhodopsin antibody stained rhabdomeric microvilli, the anti-retinochrome antibody stained the inner segment and the basal region of the outer segment, and the anti-RALBP antibody stained the outer and inner segments, respectively. These results suggest that the rhodopsin-retinochrome system that has been established in cephalopod eyes is present in the Onchidium stalk eye.

Structure and function of the Nautilus statocyst

The two equilibrium receptor organs (statocysts) of Nautilus are avoid sacks, half-filled with numerous small, free-moving statoconia and half with endolymph. The inner surface of each statocyst is lined with 130,000-150,000 primary sensory hair cells. The hair cells are of two morphological types. Type A hair cells carry 10-15 kinocilia arranged in a single ciliary row; they are present in the ventral half of the statocyst. Type B hair cells carry 8-10 irregularly arranged kinocilia; they are present in the dorsal half of the statocyst. Both type of hair cells are morphologically polarized. To test whether these features allow the Nautilus statocyst to sense angular accelerations, behavioural experiments were performed to measure statocyst-dependent funnel movements during sinusoidal oscillations of restrained Nautilus around a vertical body axis. Such dynamic rotatory stimulation caused horizontal phase-locked movements of the funnel. The funnel movements were either in the same direction (compensatory funnel response), or in the opposite direction (funnel follow response) to that of the applied rotation. Compensatory funnel movements were also seen during optokinetic stimulation (with a black and white stripe pattern) and during stimulations in which optokinetic and statocyst stimulations were combined. These morphological and behavioural findings show that the statocysts of Nautilus, in addition to their function as gravity receptor organs, are able to detect rotatory movements (angular accelerations) without the specialized receptor systems (crista/cupula systems) that are found in the statocysts of coleoid cephalopods. The findings further indicate that both statocyst and visual inputs control compensatory funnel movements.

Compensatory head roll in the blowflyCalliphoraduring flight

Video records were made of the blowflyCalliphora erythrocephalaL. mainly during tethered flight in a wind-tunnel, to study its movements about the longitudinal body axis (roll). During undisturbed flight, flies hold their head on average aligned with the body but may turn it about all three body axes. Pitch and yaw turns of the head are comparatively small (20°), whereas roll turns can be large (90°), and fast (1200° s-1). When passively rolled, flies produce compensatory head movements during walking or flight; at rest this reflex is turned off. Flies perceive a static misalignment relative to the vertical, as well as roll motion up to 10000° s-1. Within this range flies counteract an imposed roll with maximal gain at about 1000° s-1. Compensatory head movements are made with very low latency (down to ∆t ≈ 5ms), and with considerable speed (up to ω = 1000° s-1). Flies may ‘disregard’ an apparent deviation from their correct orientation, and may superimpose spontaneous head movements on those elicited by a stimulus. Compensatory head movements generally undercompensate the imposed misalignment. Simultaneously, however, flies modify their wing pitch and wingbeat amplitude to produce a compensatory roll torque. Since head and body roll act simultaneously and in the same direction, the overall speed and degree of head realignment, relative to external coordinates, increase considerably. This is certainly an advantage for flight in turbulent air. In still air, without need to correct an imposed misalignment, flies nevertheless produce spontaneous fluctuations of their flight torque, and head roll movements in the opposite direction. This is to be expected if flies intend to keep their eyes aligned with the coordinates of the environment while spontaneously performing banked turns. The limits of fly vision and the advantages of compensatory head movements for different visually guided behaviour are discussed. Compensatory head roll movements give flies greater manoeuvrability when cruising than the visual system would allow, without such a stabilizing reflex.

The molecular basis of a spectral shift in the rhodopsins of two species of squid from different photic environments

The molecular basis of spectral tuning of rhodopsin pigments in two squid species is examined. The absorbance spectra of rhodopsin extracts from Alloteuthis subulata (lambda max 499 nm) showed a 5 nm red shift compared with Loligo forbesi (lambda max 494 nm). The rhodopsin gene sequence of A. subulata opsin was determined from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified fragments by using genomic DNA as template. The deduced amino acid sequence was compared with that obtained from the previously published cDNA sequence of Loligo forbesi. A total of 22 amino acid differences are present, although only seven can be considered to be non-homologous substitutions. Three of these changes occur in helical transmembrane regions but only one, the substitution of phenylalanine by serine at site 270 in Alloteuthis subulata, involves the replacement of an apolar with a hydroxyl-bearing residue at a site located near the centre of helix VI and on the inner face of the retinal-binding pocket. The equivalent site is also used for the spectral tuning of primate cone pigments, an example of convergent evolution. It is proposed that substitution at this site is responsible for the 5 nm red shift. The relation between this spectral shift and the maximum depth distribution of Alloteuthis subulata of about 200 m, compared with about 360 m for Loligo forbesi, is discussed. An unexpected finding was that the rhodopsin gene of both species appears to lack introns.

Regional specializations in the eye of Aplysia, a neuronal circadian oscillator

The eye of the opisthobranch mollusc, Aplysia californica, contains a neuronal circadian oscillator system as well as a photoreceptor system. The retina contains five classes of receptors, several of which are described for the first time in this paper, and two types of neurons. The most conspicuous photoreceptor has long microvilli and is densely packed with small vesicles. The other four receptor types bear both microvilli and cilia and lack densely packed vesicles. Because of their small size, these four receptors occupy only a small fraction of the retinal area, but numerically they account for about half of the receptors. There are marked differences between the dorsal and ventral portions of the eye of Aplysia. The optic nerve head and associated bundles of axons within the retina form a boundary between two anatomically distinct regions of the eye. The microvillous photoreceptor and one of the receptors bearing both microvilli and cilia are found throughout the eye. The other three receptor types are restricted to the region ventral to the optic nerve head. One type of neuron, which has been shown in other studies to produce compound action potentials whose frequency varies with a circadian rhythm, is also found only ventral to the optic nerve head and associated axon bundles. There are also marked regional variations in cellular dimensions. The rhabdom originating from the microvillous photoreceptors is thickest in the dorsal and central retina, and the cross-sectional areas of these photoreceptors are largest dorsally. The pigmented layer is also much thicker in the dorsal retina. No other molluscan eye has been reported to have as many receptor types as Aplysia, nor has restriction of a receptor or neuronal type to a limited area been described. Regional variations in cellular dimensions have been reported previously primarily in the advanced cephalopod eyes. The significance of these unusual features is discussed in relation to both the visual properties of the eye and the circadian oscillator it contains.