1
|
Eaton MD, Benites P, Campillo L, Wilson RE, Sonsthagen SA. Gull Plumages are, and are Not, What They Appear to Human Vision. ANN ZOOL FENN 2022. [DOI: 10.5735/086.059.0116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Muir D. Eaton
- Biology Department, 2500 University Ave, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa 50310, USA
| | - Pilar Benites
- Museo de Zoología “Alfonso L. Herrera”, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-399, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Luke Campillo
- School of Life Sciences, University of Hawai'i – Mānoa, 2538 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - Robert E. Wilson
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th Street & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
|
3
|
Toomey MB, Ronald KL. Avian color expression and perception: is there a carotenoid link? J Exp Biol 2021; 224:269205. [PMID: 34142139 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.203844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Carotenoids color many of the red, orange and yellow ornaments of birds and also shape avian vision. The carotenoid-pigmented oil droplets in cone photoreceptors filter incoming light and are predicted to aid in color discrimination. Carotenoid use in both avian coloration and color vision raises an intriguing question: is the evolution of visual signals and signal perception linked through these pigments? Here, we explore the genetic, physiological and functional connections between these traits. Carotenoid color and droplet pigmentation share common mechanisms of metabolic conversion and are both affected by diet and immune system challenges. Yet, the time scale and magnitude of these effects differ greatly between plumage and the visual system. Recent observations suggest a link between retinal carotenoid levels and color discrimination performance, but the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. Therefore, we performed a modeling exercise to ask whether and how changes in droplet carotenoid content could alter the perception of carotenoid-based plumage. This exercise revealed that changing oil droplet carotenoid concentration does not substantially affect the discrimination of carotenoid-based colors, but might change how reliably a receiver can predict the carotenoid content of an ornament. These findings suggest that, if present, a carotenoid link between signal and perception is subtle. Deconstructing this relationship will require a deeper understanding of avian visual perception and the mechanisms of color production. We highlight several areas where we see opportunities to gain new insights, including comparative genomic studies of shared mechanisms of carotenoid processing and alternative approaches to investigating color vision.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Toomey
- Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, 800 S Tucker Dr., Tulsa, OK 74104, USA
| | - Kelly L Ronald
- Department of Biology, Hope College, 35 East 12th Street, Holland, MI 49422, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Garcia JE, Rohr DH, Dyer AG. Colour Discrimination From Perceived Differences by Birds. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.639513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of visual generalists to see and perceive displayed colour signals is essential to understanding decision making in natural environments. Whilst modelling approaches have typically considered relatively simple physiological explanations of how colour may be processed, data on key bee species reveals that colour is a complex multistage perception largely generated by opponent neural representations in a brain. Thus, a biologically meaningful unit of colour information must consider the psychophysics responses of an animal engaged in colour decision making. We extracted previously collected psychophysics data for a Violet-Sensitive (VS) bird, the pigeon (Columba livia), and used a non-linear function that reliably represents the behavioural choices of hymenopteran and dipteran pollinators to produce the first behaviourally validated and biologically meaningful representation of how VS birds use colour information in a probabilistic way. The function describes how similar or dis-similar spectral information can lead to different choice behaviours in birds, even though all such spectral information is above discrimination threshold. This new representation of bird vision will enable enhanced modelling representations of how bird vision can sense and use colour information in complex environments.
Collapse
|
5
|
Silvasti SA, Valkonen JK, Nokelainen O. Behavioural thresholds of blue tit colour vision and the effect of background chromatic complexity. Vision Res 2021; 182:46-57. [PMID: 33596523 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2020.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Vision is a vital attribute to foraging, navigation, mate selection and social signalling in animals, which often have a very different colour perception in comparison to humans. For understanding how animal colour perception works, vision models provide the smallest colour difference that animals of a given species are assumed to detect. To determine the just-noticeable-difference, or JND, vision models use Weber fractions that set discrimination thresholds of a stimulus compared to its background. However, although vision models are widely used, they rely on assumptions of Weber fractions since the exact fractions are unknown for most species. Here, we test; i) which Weber fractions in long-, middle- and shortwave (i.e. L, M, S) colour channels best describe the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) colour discrimination, ii) how changes in hue of saturated colours and iii) chromatic background noise impair search behaviour in blue tits. We show that the behaviourally verified Weber fractions on achromatic backgrounds were L: 0.05, M: 0.03 and S: 0.03, indicating a high colour sensitivity. In contrast, on saturated chromatic backgrounds, the correct Weber fractions were considerably higher for L: 0.20, M: 0.17 and S: 0.15, indicating a less detailed colour perception. Chromatic complexity of backgrounds affected the longwave channel, while middle- and shortwave channels were mostly unaffected. We caution that using a vision model whereby colour discrimination is determined in achromatic viewing conditions, as they often are, can lead to misleading interpretations of biological interactions in natural - colourful - environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sanni A Silvasti
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
| | - Janne K Valkonen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Ossi Nokelainen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Goedert D, Clement D, Calsbeek R. Evolutionary trade‐offs may interact with physiological constraints to maintain color variation. ECOL MONOGR 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Debora Goedert
- Department of Biological Sciences Dartmouth College Hanover03755 New Hampshire USA
- Ministry of Education of Brazil CAPES Foundation Brasília DF95616Brazil
| | - Dale Clement
- Department of Biological Sciences Dartmouth College Hanover03755 New Hampshire USA
| | - Ryan Calsbeek
- Department of Biological Sciences Dartmouth College Hanover03755 New Hampshire USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Conspecific and Predator Perception of the Red Oophaga pumilio Morph from the Central Caribbean of Costa Rica. J HERPETOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1670/19-110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
|
8
|
Variation in carotenoid-containing retinal oil droplets correlates with variation in perception of carotenoid coloration. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02874-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
|
9
|
Pellitteri-Rosa D, Gazzola A, Todisco S, Mastropasqua F, Liuzzi C. Lizard colour plasticity tracks background seasonal changes. Biol Open 2020; 9:bio052415. [PMID: 32414767 PMCID: PMC7286296 DOI: 10.1242/bio.052415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental heterogeneity on a spatial and temporal scale fosters an organism's capacity to plastically alter coloration. Predation risk might favour the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in colour patterns, as individuals who change colour throughout the year may be able to improve their fitness. Here we explored the change in dorsal pigmentation of the Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus campestris) at three time points (March, July, October) during a period of activity in a Mediterranean natural area in southern Italy. Following a preliminary investigation conducted in 2018, during 2019 we captured 135 lizards and took a picture of their ventral scales to check for possible recapture over the sessions. Lizard dorsal pictures were collected in the field with the support of a reference chart to quantitatively estimate chromatic variables (hue, saturation and value). At the same time, pictures of the environmental background were collected. Our findings suggest that lizards are capable of altering dorsal coloration during seasonal change. They vary from green at the onset of spring, to brownish in the middle of summer and to a greyish colour in October. This modification closely followed environmental background colour variation and enhanced lizard crypsis during each season.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Pellitteri-Rosa
- Laboratorio di Zoologia, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università di Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Andrea Gazzola
- Laboratorio di Zoologia, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università di Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Simone Todisco
- Societas Herpetologica Italica, Sezione Puglia, Bitritto, BA 70020, Italy
| | - Fabio Mastropasqua
- Societas Herpetologica Italica, Sezione Puglia, Bitritto, BA 70020, Italy
| | - Cristiano Liuzzi
- Societas Herpetologica Italica, Sezione Puglia, Bitritto, BA 70020, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Avilés JM. Avian egg and nestling detection in the wild: should we rely on visual models or behavioural experiments? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190485. [PMID: 32420848 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The fields of avian egg and nestling colour detection have rapidly advanced owing to the application of visual models, which have allowed assessing of evolutionary questions considering receiver perception. Here, I first review the literature aiming to identify patterns of avian visual model usage. Second, I elaborate on limitations in the application of the receptor-noise limited perceptual (RNL hereafter) model. A systematic literature review revealed that the RNL model was the most used approach (81% of studies) in the field, and that most studies (76%) were concerned with classic evolutionary questions in avian brood parasitism. Some known limitations of the RNL model deal with model assumptions and parameterization, or, a poor consideration of post-detection neural processes. Others, however, are specific of the fields of egg and nestling discrimination and deal with the highly variable nature of ambient light at the nests, the complex colour design of eggs and nestlings, the multi-dimensional nature of perception, and the possible implication of learning. I, therefore, conclude that visual models should be used with caution to establish inference about egg and nestling discrimination, and rather be used to provide reasonable hypotheses which need to be validated with behavioural experiments. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jesús M Avilés
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Spanish Council for Research (EEZA-CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, 04120, La Cañada de San Urbano, E04120 Almería, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Fan M, D’alba L, Shawkey MD, Peters A, Delhey K. Multiple components of feather microstructure contribute to structural plumage colour diversity in fairy-wrens. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
AbstractClosely related species often differ in coloration. Understanding the mechanistic bases of such differences can reveal whether evolutionary changes in colour are driven by single key mechanisms or changes in multiple pathways. Non-iridescent structural plumage colours in birds are a good model in which to test these questions. These colours result from light absorption by pigments, light scattering by the medullary spongy layer (a nanostructure found within barbs) and contributions from other structural elements. Fairy-wrens (Malurus spp.) are a small clade of closely related birds that display a large diversity of ornamental structural colours. Using spectrometry, electron microscopy and Fourier analysis, we show that 30 structural colours, varying from ultraviolet to blue and purple, share a similar barb morphology. Despite this similarity, we find that at the microscopic scale, variation across multiple structural elements, including the size and density of the keratin cortex, spongy layer and melanin, explains colour diversity. These independent axes of morphological variation together account for sizeable amounts of structural colour variability (R2 = 0.21–0.65). The coexistence of many independent, evolutionarily labile mechanisms that generate colour variation suggests that the diversity of structural colours in this clade could be mediated by many independent genetic and environmental factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marie Fan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Liliana D’alba
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Department of Biology, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Matthew D Shawkey
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Department of Biology, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Anne Peters
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kaspar Delhey
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Radolfzell, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Escobar-Camacho D, Taylor MA, Cheney KL, Green NF, Marshall NJ, Carleton KL. Color discrimination thresholds in a cichlid fish: Metriaclima benetos. J Exp Biol 2019; 222:jeb201160. [PMID: 31399486 PMCID: PMC6765173 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.201160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Color vision is essential for animals as it allows them to detect, recognize and discriminate between colored objects. Studies analyzing color vision require an integrative approach, combining behavioral experiments, physiological models and quantitative analyses of photoreceptor stimulation. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, the limits of chromatic discrimination in Metriaclima benetos, a rock-dwelling cichlid from Lake Malawi, using behavioral experiments and visual modeling. Fish were trained to discriminate between colored stimuli. Color discrimination thresholds were quantified by testing fish chromatic discrimination between the rewarded stimulus and distracter stimuli that varied in chromatic distance (ΔS). This was done under fluorescent lights alone and with additional violet lights. Our results provide two main outcomes. First, cichlid color discrimination thresholds correspond with predictions from the receptor noise limited (RNL) model but only if we assume a Weber fraction higher than the typical value of 5%. Second, cichlids may exhibit limited color constancy under certain lighting conditions as most individuals failed to discriminate colors when violet light was added. We further used the color discrimination thresholds obtained from these experiments to model color discrimination of actual fish colors and backgrounds under natural lighting for Lake Malawi. We found that, for M. benetos, blue is most chromatically contrasting against yellows and space-light, which might be important for discriminating male nuptial colorations and detecting males against the background. This study highlights the importance of lab-based behavioral experiments in understanding color vision and in parameterizing the assumptions of the RNL vision model for different species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Michaela A Taylor
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Karen L Cheney
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
- Queensland Brain Institute, 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, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Karen L Carleton
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Price TD, Stoddard MC, Shevell SK, Bloch NI. Understanding how neural responses contribute to the diversity of avian colour vision. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
|
14
|
Soler JJ, Morales J, Cuervo JJ, Moreno J. Conspicuousness of passerine females is associated with the nest-building behaviour of males. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Juan José Soler
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Almería, Spain
| | - Judith Morales
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Juan Moreno
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Gawryszewski FM. Color vision models: Some simulations, a general n-dimensional model, and the colourvision R package. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:8159-8170. [PMID: 30250692 PMCID: PMC6144980 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of color vision models has allowed the appraisal of color vision independent of the human experience. These models are now widely used in ecology and evolution studies. However, in common scenarios of color measurement, color vision models may generate spurious results. Here I present a guide to color vision modeling (Chittka (1992, Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 170, 545) color hexagon, Endler & Mielke (2005, Journal Of The Linnean Society, 86, 405) model, and the linear and log-linear receptor noise limited models (Vorobyev & Osorio 1998, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 265, 351; Vorobyev et al. 1998, Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 183, 621)) using a series of simulations, present a unified framework that extends and generalize current models, and provide an R package to facilitate the use of color vision models. When the specific requirements of each model are met, between-model results are qualitatively and quantitatively similar. However, under many common scenarios of color measurements, models may generate spurious values. For instance, models that log-transform data and use relative photoreceptor outputs are prone to generate spurious outputs when the stimulus photon catch is smaller than the background photon catch; and models may generate unrealistic predictions when the background is chromatic (e.g. leaf reflectance) and the stimulus is an achromatic low reflectance spectrum. Nonetheless, despite differences, all three models are founded on a similar set of assumptions. Based on that, I provide a new formulation that accommodates and extends models to any number of photoreceptor types, offers flexibility to build user-defined models, and allows users to easily adjust chromaticity diagram sizes to account for changes when using different number of photoreceptors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Felipe M. Gawryszewski
- Departamento de ZoologiaInstituto de Ciências BiológicasUniversidade de BrasíliaBrasíliaBrazil
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Maia
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Thomas E White
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Pérez i de Lanuza G, Ábalos J, Bartolomé A, Font E. Through the eye of a lizard: hue discrimination in a lizard with ventral polymorphic coloration. J Exp Biol 2018; 221:jeb.169565. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.169565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Colour polymorphisms are thought to be maintained by complex evolutionary processes some of which require that the colours of the alternative morphs function as chromatic signals to conspecifics. Unfortunately, a key aspect of this hypothesis has rarely been studied: whether the study species perceives its own colour variation as discrete rather than continuous. The European common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) presents a striking colour polymorphism: the ventral surface of adults of both sexes may be coloured orange, white, yellow, or with a mosaic of scales combining two colours (orange-white, orange-yellow). Here we use a discrimination learning paradigm to test if P. muralis is capable of discriminating colour stimuli designed to match the ventral colours of conspecifics. We trained 20 lizards to eat from colour-coded wells bored in wooden blocks. Blocks had four colour-coded wells (orange, white, yellow, and an achromatic control), but only one contained food (mealworm larvae). After six trials, the lizards performed significantly better than expected by chance, showing a decrease in both the number of wells explored and the latency to finding the food. Using visual modelling techniques we found that, based on their spectral properties and the lizards’ cone sensitivities, the ventral colours of P. muralis correspond to discrete rather than continuous colour categories, and that colour discriminability (i.e. distance in perceptual space) varies depending on the morphs compared, which may have implications for signal detection and discrimination. These results suggest that P. muralis can discriminate hue differences matching their own ventral colour variation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guillem Pérez i de Lanuza
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
| | - Javier Ábalos
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
- Ethology Lab, Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Universitat de València, Spain
| | - Alicia Bartolomé
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Portugal
- Ethology Lab, Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Universitat de València, Spain
| | - Enrique Font
- Ethology Lab, Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Universitat de València, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Ronald KL, Ensminger AL, Shawkey MD, Lucas JR, Fernández-Juricic E. Testing a key assumption in animal communication: between-individual variation in female visual systems alters perception of male signals. Biol Open 2017; 6:1771-1783. [PMID: 29247048 PMCID: PMC5769651 DOI: 10.1242/bio.028282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Variation in male signal production has been extensively studied because of its relevance to animal communication and sexual selection. Although we now know much about the mechanisms that can lead to variation between males in the properties of their signals, there is still a general assumption that there is little variation in terms of how females process these male signals. Variation between females in signal processing may lead to variation between females in how they rank individual males, meaning that one single signal may not be universally attractive to all females. We tested this assumption in a group of female wild-caught brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), a species that uses a male visual signal (e.g. a wingspread display) to make its mate-choice decisions. We found that females varied in two key parameters of their visual sensory systems related to chromatic and achromatic vision: cone densities (both total and proportions) and cone oil droplet absorbance. Using visual chromatic and achromatic contrast modeling, we then found that this between-individual variation in visual physiology leads to significant between-individual differences in how females perceive chromatic and achromatic male signals. These differences may lead to variation in female preferences for male visual signals, which would provide a potential mechanism for explaining individual differences in mate-choice behavior. Summary: Animal communication studies often assume receiver perception is equal across individuals; we found females vary in their visual physiology and perception of male signals which could influence their mating decisions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kelly L Ronald
- Indiana University, Department of Biology, Jordan Hall, 1001 E 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA .,Purdue University, Department of Biological Sciences, Lilly Hall, 915 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Amanda L Ensminger
- Morningside College, Biology Department, 1501 Morningside Avenue, Sioux City, IA 51106, USA
| | - Matthew D Shawkey
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructure Group, Department of Biology, University of Ghent, Ledeganckstraat 35, Ghent 9000, Belgium
| | - Jeffrey R Lucas
- Purdue University, Department of Biological Sciences, Lilly Hall, 915 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Esteban Fernández-Juricic
- Purdue University, Department of Biological Sciences, Lilly Hall, 915 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Olsson P, Lind O, Kelber A. Chromatic and achromatic vision: parameter choice and limitations for reliable model predictions. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Olsson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Olle Lind
- Department of Philosophy, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Almut Kelber
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Bitton PP, Harant UK, Fritsch R, Champ CM, Temple SE, Michiels NK. Red fluorescence of the triplefin Tripterygion delaisi is increasingly visible against background light with increasing depth. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:161009. [PMID: 28405391 PMCID: PMC5383848 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.161009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The light environment in water bodies changes with depth due to the absorption of short and long wavelengths. Below 10 m depth, red wavelengths are almost completely absent rendering any red-reflecting animal dark and achromatic. However, fluorescence may produce red coloration even when red light is not available for reflection. A large number of marine taxa including over 270 fish species are known to produce red fluorescence, yet it is unclear under which natural light environment fluorescence contributes perceptively to their colours. To address this question we: (i) characterized the visual system of Tripterygion delaisi, which possesses fluorescent irides, (ii) separated the colour of the irides into its reflectance and fluorescence components and (iii) combined these data with field measurements of the ambient light environment to calculate depth-dependent perceptual chromatic and achromatic contrasts using visual modelling. We found that triplefins have cones with at least three different spectral sensitivities, including differences between the two members of the double cones, giving them the potential for trichromatic colour vision. We also show that fluorescence contributes increasingly to the radiance of the irides with increasing depth. Our results support the potential functionality of red fluorescence, including communicative roles such as species and sex identity, and non-communicative roles such as camouflage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Paul Bitton
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ulrike K. Harant
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Roland Fritsch
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Connor M. Champ
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Shelby E. Temple
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Nico K. Michiels
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|