Topography of vision and behaviour
(2009) In Journal of Experimental Biology 212. p.3522-3532- Abstract
- Given the great range of visual systems, tasks and habitats, there is surprisingly little experimental evidence of how visual
limitations affect behavioural strategies under natural conditions. Analysing this relationship will require an experimental system
that allows for the synchronous measurement of visual cues and visually guided behaviour. The first step in quantifying visual
cues from an animal’s perspective is to understand the filter properties of its visual system. We examined the first stage of visual
processing – sampling by the ommatidial array – in the compound eye of the fiddler crab Uca vomeris. Using an in vivo
pseudopupil method we determined sizes and viewing directions of... (More) - Given the great range of visual systems, tasks and habitats, there is surprisingly little experimental evidence of how visual
limitations affect behavioural strategies under natural conditions. Analysing this relationship will require an experimental system
that allows for the synchronous measurement of visual cues and visually guided behaviour. The first step in quantifying visual
cues from an animal’s perspective is to understand the filter properties of its visual system. We examined the first stage of visual
processing – sampling by the ommatidial array – in the compound eye of the fiddler crab Uca vomeris. Using an in vivo
pseudopupil method we determined sizes and viewing directions of ommatidia and created a complete eye map of optical and
sampling resolution across the visual field. Our results reveal five distinct eye regions (ventral, dorsal, frontal, lateral and medial)
which exhibit clear differences in the organisation of the local sampling array, in particular with respect to the balance of
resolution and contrast sensitivity. We argue that, under global eye space constraints, these regional optimisations reflect the
information content and behavioural relevance of the corresponding parts of the visual field. In demonstrating the tight link
between visual sampling, visual cues and behavioural strategies, our analysis highlights how the study of natural behaviour and
natural stimuli is essential to our understanding and interpretation of the evolution and ecology of animal behaviour and the
design of sensory systems. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2254706
- author
- Smolka, Jochen LU and Hemmi, Jan M.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2009
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Uca vomeris, compound eye, eye map, resolution, Crustacea, visual ecology.
- in
- Journal of Experimental Biology
- volume
- 212
- pages
- 3522 - 3532
- publisher
- The Company of Biologists Ltd
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:70350228579
- pmid:19837894
- ISSN
- 1477-9145
- DOI
- 10.1242/jeb.032359
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 1033824f-3124-4d23-b25c-5acaa48df9ae (old id 2254706)
- alternative location
- http://jeb.biologists.org/content/212/21/3522.full
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 12:22:57
- date last changed
- 2022-01-27 02:59:46
@article{1033824f-3124-4d23-b25c-5acaa48df9ae,
abstract = {{Given the great range of visual systems, tasks and habitats, there is surprisingly little experimental evidence of how visual<br/><br>
limitations affect behavioural strategies under natural conditions. Analysing this relationship will require an experimental system<br/><br>
that allows for the synchronous measurement of visual cues and visually guided behaviour. The first step in quantifying visual<br/><br>
cues from an animal’s perspective is to understand the filter properties of its visual system. We examined the first stage of visual<br/><br>
processing – sampling by the ommatidial array – in the compound eye of the fiddler crab Uca vomeris. Using an in vivo<br/><br>
pseudopupil method we determined sizes and viewing directions of ommatidia and created a complete eye map of optical and<br/><br>
sampling resolution across the visual field. Our results reveal five distinct eye regions (ventral, dorsal, frontal, lateral and medial)<br/><br>
which exhibit clear differences in the organisation of the local sampling array, in particular with respect to the balance of<br/><br>
resolution and contrast sensitivity. We argue that, under global eye space constraints, these regional optimisations reflect the<br/><br>
information content and behavioural relevance of the corresponding parts of the visual field. In demonstrating the tight link<br/><br>
between visual sampling, visual cues and behavioural strategies, our analysis highlights how the study of natural behaviour and<br/><br>
natural stimuli is essential to our understanding and interpretation of the evolution and ecology of animal behaviour and the<br/><br>
design of sensory systems.}},
author = {{Smolka, Jochen and Hemmi, Jan M.}},
issn = {{1477-9145}},
keywords = {{Uca vomeris; compound eye; eye map; resolution; Crustacea; visual ecology.}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{3522--3532}},
publisher = {{The Company of Biologists Ltd}},
series = {{Journal of Experimental Biology}},
title = {{Topography of vision and behaviour}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.032359}},
doi = {{10.1242/jeb.032359}},
volume = {{212}},
year = {{2009}},
}