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The optical sensitivity of compound eyes: theory and experiment compared.

Frederiksen, Rikard LU and Warrant, Eric LU orcid (2008) In Biology letters 4(6). p.745-747
Abstract
The Land sensitivity equation is a well-known tool for comparing optical performance between eyes. Despite this, the equation has never been experimentally tested. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first experimental validation of the equation. We have investigated different insect species active at different intensities, and possessing different types of compound eyes, to compare ratios of calculated sensitivities to ratios determined experimentally. Experimental optical sensitivities were measured by adjusting the intensity of an external light source until photoreceptors in the different eyes produced roughly equal numbers of photon responses ('bumps') per second. The sensitivity ratios obtained in this manner agree well with... (More)
The Land sensitivity equation is a well-known tool for comparing optical performance between eyes. Despite this, the equation has never been experimentally tested. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first experimental validation of the equation. We have investigated different insect species active at different intensities, and possessing different types of compound eyes, to compare ratios of calculated sensitivities to ratios determined experimentally. Experimental optical sensitivities were measured by adjusting the intensity of an external light source until photoreceptors in the different eyes produced roughly equal numbers of photon responses ('bumps') per second. The sensitivity ratios obtained in this manner agree well with those obtained using the equation. We conclude that the Land equation remains an excellent tool for comparing sensitivities between different eyes. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
superposition compound eye, apposition compound eye, optical sensitivity
in
Biology letters
volume
4
issue
6
pages
745 - 747
publisher
Royal Society Publishing
external identifiers
  • wos:000260719800038
  • scopus:58149240776
  • pmid:18842569
ISSN
1744-9561
DOI
10.1098/rsbl.2008.0467
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f988e563-5a2f-4b3b-a5db-56ddfa7c73a3 (old id 1262421)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:51:24
date last changed
2024-04-22 18:41:12
@article{f988e563-5a2f-4b3b-a5db-56ddfa7c73a3,
  abstract     = {{The Land sensitivity equation is a well-known tool for comparing optical performance between eyes. Despite this, the equation has never been experimentally tested. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first experimental validation of the equation. We have investigated different insect species active at different intensities, and possessing different types of compound eyes, to compare ratios of calculated sensitivities to ratios determined experimentally. Experimental optical sensitivities were measured by adjusting the intensity of an external light source until photoreceptors in the different eyes produced roughly equal numbers of photon responses ('bumps') per second. The sensitivity ratios obtained in this manner agree well with those obtained using the equation. We conclude that the Land equation remains an excellent tool for comparing sensitivities between different eyes.}},
  author       = {{Frederiksen, Rikard and Warrant, Eric}},
  issn         = {{1744-9561}},
  keywords     = {{superposition compound eye; apposition compound eye; optical sensitivity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{745--747}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
  series       = {{Biology letters}},
  title        = {{The optical sensitivity of compound eyes: theory and experiment compared.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0467}},
  doi          = {{10.1098/rsbl.2008.0467}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}