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Adaptations for nocturnal vision in insect apposition eyes

Greiner, Birgit LU (2006) In International Review of Cytology 250. p.1-1
Abstract
Due to our own preference for bright light, we tend to forget that many insects are active in very dim light. Nocturnal insects possess in general superposition compound eyes. This eye design is truly optimized for dim light as photons can be gathered through large apertures comprised of hundreds of lenses. In apposition eyes, on the other hand, the aperture consists of a single lens resulting in a poor photon catch and unreliable vision in dim light. Apposition eyes are therefore typically found in day-active insects. Some nocturnal insects have nevertheless managed the transition to a strictly nocturnal lifestyle while retaining their highly unsuitable apposition eye design. Large lenses and wide photoreceptors enhance the sensitivity of... (More)
Due to our own preference for bright light, we tend to forget that many insects are active in very dim light. Nocturnal insects possess in general superposition compound eyes. This eye design is truly optimized for dim light as photons can be gathered through large apertures comprised of hundreds of lenses. In apposition eyes, on the other hand, the aperture consists of a single lens resulting in a poor photon catch and unreliable vision in dim light. Apposition eyes are therefore typically found in day-active insects. Some nocturnal insects have nevertheless managed the transition to a strictly nocturnal lifestyle while retaining their highly unsuitable apposition eye design. Large lenses and wide photoreceptors enhance the sensitivity of nocturnal apposition eyes. However, as the gain of these optical adaptations is limited and not sufficient for vision in dim light, additional neural adaptations in the form of spatial and temporal summation are necessary. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
theoretical modeling, summation, temporal and spatial, optical and neural adaptations, navigation, landmark, apposition eye, nocturnal insects, vision, dim light
in
International Review of Cytology
volume
250
pages
1 - 1
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000238908700001
  • pmid:16861062
  • scopus:33746008585
ISSN
0074-7696
DOI
10.1016/S0074-7696(06)50001-4
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Zoology (Closed 2011) (011012000)
id
663ba1bd-da50-41c3-879c-dc34ccd8e1c1 (old id 399554)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:42:07
date last changed
2022-04-22 23:50:31
@article{663ba1bd-da50-41c3-879c-dc34ccd8e1c1,
  abstract     = {{Due to our own preference for bright light, we tend to forget that many insects are active in very dim light. Nocturnal insects possess in general superposition compound eyes. This eye design is truly optimized for dim light as photons can be gathered through large apertures comprised of hundreds of lenses. In apposition eyes, on the other hand, the aperture consists of a single lens resulting in a poor photon catch and unreliable vision in dim light. Apposition eyes are therefore typically found in day-active insects. Some nocturnal insects have nevertheless managed the transition to a strictly nocturnal lifestyle while retaining their highly unsuitable apposition eye design. Large lenses and wide photoreceptors enhance the sensitivity of nocturnal apposition eyes. However, as the gain of these optical adaptations is limited and not sufficient for vision in dim light, additional neural adaptations in the form of spatial and temporal summation are necessary.}},
  author       = {{Greiner, Birgit}},
  issn         = {{0074-7696}},
  keywords     = {{theoretical modeling; summation; temporal and spatial; optical and neural adaptations; navigation; landmark; apposition eye; nocturnal insects; vision; dim light}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1--1}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{International Review of Cytology}},
  title        = {{Adaptations for nocturnal vision in insect apposition eyes}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0074-7696(06)50001-4}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/S0074-7696(06)50001-4}},
  volume       = {{250}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}