Bumblebee visual allometry results in locally improved resolution and globally improved sensitivity
(2019) In eLife 8.- Abstract
The quality of visual information that is available to an animal is limited by the size of its eyes. Differences in eye size can be observed even between closely related individuals, yet we understand little about how this affects vision. Insects are good models for exploring the effects of size on visual systems because many insect species exhibit size polymorphism. Previous work has been limited by difficulties in determining the 3D structure of eyes. We have developed a novel method based on x-ray microtomography to measure the 3D structure of insect eyes and to calculate predictions of their visual capabilities. We used our method to investigate visual allometry in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris and found that size affects specific... (More)
The quality of visual information that is available to an animal is limited by the size of its eyes. Differences in eye size can be observed even between closely related individuals, yet we understand little about how this affects vision. Insects are good models for exploring the effects of size on visual systems because many insect species exhibit size polymorphism. Previous work has been limited by difficulties in determining the 3D structure of eyes. We have developed a novel method based on x-ray microtomography to measure the 3D structure of insect eyes and to calculate predictions of their visual capabilities. We used our method to investigate visual allometry in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris and found that size affects specific aspects of vision, including binocular overlap, optical sensitivity, and dorsofrontal visual resolution. This reveals that differential scaling between eye areas provides flexibility that improves the visual capabilities of larger bumblebees.
(Less)
- author
- Taylor, Gavin J. LU ; Tichit, Pierre LU ; Schmidt, Marie D. LU ; Bodey, Andrew J. ; Rau, Christoph and Baird, Emily LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2019-02-26
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- allometry, computational biology, computational geometry, eyes, MicroCT, neuroscience, optical model, systems biology, vision
- in
- eLife
- volume
- 8
- article number
- e40613
- publisher
- eLife Sciences Publications
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:30803484
- scopus:85062173393
- ISSN
- 2050-084X
- DOI
- 10.7554/eLife.40613
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1b5c14e2-9819-4b04-bb0e-482462e8b13b
- date added to LUP
- 2019-03-11 12:21:46
- date last changed
- 2024-09-17 15:26:03
@article{1b5c14e2-9819-4b04-bb0e-482462e8b13b, abstract = {{<p>The quality of visual information that is available to an animal is limited by the size of its eyes. Differences in eye size can be observed even between closely related individuals, yet we understand little about how this affects vision. Insects are good models for exploring the effects of size on visual systems because many insect species exhibit size polymorphism. Previous work has been limited by difficulties in determining the 3D structure of eyes. We have developed a novel method based on x-ray microtomography to measure the 3D structure of insect eyes and to calculate predictions of their visual capabilities. We used our method to investigate visual allometry in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris and found that size affects specific aspects of vision, including binocular overlap, optical sensitivity, and dorsofrontal visual resolution. This reveals that differential scaling between eye areas provides flexibility that improves the visual capabilities of larger bumblebees.</p>}}, author = {{Taylor, Gavin J. and Tichit, Pierre and Schmidt, Marie D. and Bodey, Andrew J. and Rau, Christoph and Baird, Emily}}, issn = {{2050-084X}}, keywords = {{allometry; computational biology; computational geometry; eyes; MicroCT; neuroscience; optical model; systems biology; vision}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{02}}, publisher = {{eLife Sciences Publications}}, series = {{eLife}}, title = {{Bumblebee visual allometry results in locally improved resolution and globally improved sensitivity}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.40613}}, doi = {{10.7554/eLife.40613}}, volume = {{8}}, year = {{2019}}, }