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Hanley D, Rutledge SL, Villa J. The Perceptual and Cognitive Processes That Govern Egg Rejection in Hosts of Avian Brood Parasites. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.702934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Hosts of avian brood parasites are under intense selective pressure to prevent or reduce the cost of parasitism. Many have evolved refined egg discrimination abilities, which can select for eggshell mimicry in their parasite. A classic assumption underlying these coevolutionary dynamics is that host egg recognition depends on the perceivable difference between their own eggs and those of their parasite. Over the past two decades, the receptor noise-limited (RNL) model has contributed to our understanding of these coevolutionary interactions by providing researchers a method to predict a host’s ability to discriminate a parasite’s egg from its own. Recent research has shown that some hosts are more likely to reject brown eggs than blue eggs, regardless of the perceived differences to their own. Such responses suggest that host egg recognition may be due to perceptual or cognitive processes not currently predictable by the RNL model. In this perspective, we discuss the potential value of using the RNL model as a null model to explore alternative perceptual processes and higher-order cognitive processes that could explain how and why some hosts make seemingly counter-intuitive decisions. Further, we outline experiments that should be fruitful for determining the perceptual and cognitive processing used by hosts for egg recognition tasks.
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van den Berg CP, Hollenkamp M, Mitchell LJ, Watson EJ, Green NF, Marshall NJ, Cheney KL. More than noise: context-dependent luminance contrast discrimination in a coral reef fish ( Rhinecanthus aculeatus). J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb232090. [PMID: 32967998 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.232090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Achromatic (luminance) vision is used by animals to perceive motion, pattern, space and texture. Luminance contrast sensitivity thresholds are often poorly characterised for individual species and are applied across a diverse range of perceptual contexts using over-simplified assumptions of an animal's visual system. Such thresholds are often estimated using the receptor noise limited model (RNL). However, the suitability of the RNL model to describe luminance contrast perception remains poorly tested. Here, we investigated context-dependent luminance discrimination using triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus) presented with large achromatic stimuli (spots) against uniform achromatic backgrounds of varying absolute and relative contrasts. 'Dark' and 'bright' spots were presented against relatively dark and bright backgrounds. We found significant differences in luminance discrimination thresholds across treatments. When measured using Michelson contrast, thresholds for bright spots on a bright background were significantly higher than for other scenarios, and the lowest threshold was found when dark spots were presented on dark backgrounds. Thresholds expressed in Weber contrast revealed lower thresholds for spots darker than their backgrounds, which is consistent with the literature. The RNL model was unable to estimate threshold scaling across scenarios as predicted by the Weber-Fechner law, highlighting limitations in the current use of the RNL model to quantify luminance contrast perception. Our study confirms that luminance contrast discrimination thresholds are context dependent and should therefore be interpreted with caution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cedric P van den Berg
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Michelle Hollenkamp
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Laurie J Mitchell
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Erin J Watson
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Naomi F Green
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - N Justin Marshall
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Karen L Cheney
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
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Garcia JE, Shrestha M, Dyer AG. Flower signal variability overwhelms receptor-noise and requires plastic color learning in bees. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jair E Garcia
- Bio-Inspired Digital Sensing (BIDS) Lab, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Mani Shrestha
- Bio-Inspired Digital Sensing (BIDS) Lab, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- APIS Lab, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Adrian G Dyer
- Bio-Inspired Digital Sensing (BIDS) Lab, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia
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Olsson P, Lind O, Kelber A. Models for a colorful reality?: a response to comments on Olsson et al. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Olsson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan, Lund, Sweden
| | - Olle Lind
- Department of Philosophy, Lund University, Helgonavägen, Lund, Sweden
| | - Almut Kelber
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan, Lund, Sweden
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