Orienting to polarized light at night - matching lunar skylight to performance in a nocturnal beetle
(2019) In The Journal of experimental biology 222.- Abstract
For polarized light to inform behaviour, the typical range of degrees of polarization observable in the animal's natural environment must be above the threshold for detection and interpretation. Here, we present the first investigation of the degree of linear polarization threshold for orientation behaviour in a nocturnal species, with specific reference to the range of degrees of polarization measured in the night sky. An effect of lunar phase on the degree of polarization of skylight was found, with smaller illuminated fractions of the moon's surface corresponding to lower degrees of polarization in the night sky. We found that the South African dung beetle Escarabaeus satyrus can orient to polarized light for a range of degrees of... (More)
For polarized light to inform behaviour, the typical range of degrees of polarization observable in the animal's natural environment must be above the threshold for detection and interpretation. Here, we present the first investigation of the degree of linear polarization threshold for orientation behaviour in a nocturnal species, with specific reference to the range of degrees of polarization measured in the night sky. An effect of lunar phase on the degree of polarization of skylight was found, with smaller illuminated fractions of the moon's surface corresponding to lower degrees of polarization in the night sky. We found that the South African dung beetle Escarabaeus satyrus can orient to polarized light for a range of degrees of polarization similar to that observed in diurnal insects, reaching a lower threshold between 0.04 and 0.32, possibly as low as 0.11. For degrees of polarization lower than 0.23, as measured on a crescent moon night, orientation performance was considerably weaker than that observed for completely linearly polarized stimuli, but was nonetheless stronger than in the absence of polarized light.
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- author
- Foster, James J. LU ; Kirwan, John D. LU ; El Jundi, Basil LU ; Smolka, Jochen LU ; Khaldy, Lana LU ; Baird, Emily LU ; Byrne, Marcus J. ; Nilsson, Dan Eric LU ; Johnsen, Sönke and Dacke, Marie LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2019-01-28
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Polarization, Sky compass, Straight-line orientation, Vision
- in
- The Journal of experimental biology
- volume
- 222
- publisher
- The Company of Biologists Ltd
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:30530838
- scopus:85060642407
- ISSN
- 1477-9145
- DOI
- 10.1242/jeb.188532
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 2ac98a85-5336-4287-b71b-c79b130d5d22
- date added to LUP
- 2019-02-05 10:02:44
- date last changed
- 2024-04-15 22:31:00
@article{2ac98a85-5336-4287-b71b-c79b130d5d22,
abstract = {{<p>For polarized light to inform behaviour, the typical range of degrees of polarization observable in the animal's natural environment must be above the threshold for detection and interpretation. Here, we present the first investigation of the degree of linear polarization threshold for orientation behaviour in a nocturnal species, with specific reference to the range of degrees of polarization measured in the night sky. An effect of lunar phase on the degree of polarization of skylight was found, with smaller illuminated fractions of the moon's surface corresponding to lower degrees of polarization in the night sky. We found that the South African dung beetle Escarabaeus satyrus can orient to polarized light for a range of degrees of polarization similar to that observed in diurnal insects, reaching a lower threshold between 0.04 and 0.32, possibly as low as 0.11. For degrees of polarization lower than 0.23, as measured on a crescent moon night, orientation performance was considerably weaker than that observed for completely linearly polarized stimuli, but was nonetheless stronger than in the absence of polarized light.</p>}},
author = {{Foster, James J. and Kirwan, John D. and El Jundi, Basil and Smolka, Jochen and Khaldy, Lana and Baird, Emily and Byrne, Marcus J. and Nilsson, Dan Eric and Johnsen, Sönke and Dacke, Marie}},
issn = {{1477-9145}},
keywords = {{Polarization; Sky compass; Straight-line orientation; Vision}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
publisher = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
series = {{The Journal of experimental biology}},
title = {{Orienting to polarized light at night - matching lunar skylight to performance in a nocturnal beetle}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.188532}},
doi = {{10.1242/jeb.188532}},
volume = {{222}},
year = {{2019}},
}