scholarly journals A detailed investigation of the visual system and visual ecology of the Barrier Reef anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara M. Stieb ◽  
Fanny de Busserolles ◽  
Karen L. Carleton ◽  
Fabio Cortesi ◽  
Wen-Sung Chung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Chromatic Contrast ◽  
Sequential Hermaphroditism ◽  
Single Cone ◽  
Host Anemone ◽  
Colour Patterns ◽  
Cone Opsins ◽  
Species Ecology

Abstract Vision plays a major role in the life of most teleosts, and is assumingly well adapted to each species ecology and behaviour. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we scrutinised several aspects of the visual system and ecology of the Great Barrier Reef anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos, including its orange with white patterning, retinal anatomy and molecular biology, its symbiosis with anemones and sequential hermaphroditism. Amphiprion akindynos possesses spectrally distinct visual pigments and opsins: one rod opsin, RH1 (498 nm), and five cone opsins, SWS1 (370 nm), SWS2B (408 nm), RH2B (498 nm), RH2A (520 nm), and LWS (554 nm). Cones were arranged in a regular mosaic with each single cone surrounded by four double cones. Double cones mainly expressed RH2B (53%) in one member and RH2A (46%) in the other, matching the prevailing light. Single cones expressed SWS1 (89%), which may serve to detect zooplankton, conspecifics and the host anemone. Moreover, a segregated small fraction of single cones coexpressed SWS1 with SWS2B (11%). This novel visual specialisation falls within the region of highest acuity and is suggested to increase the chromatic contrast of Amphiprion akindynos colour patterns, which might improve detection of conspecifics.

scholarly journals Transmission of ocular media in labrid fishes

2000 ◽  
Vol 355 (1401) ◽  
pp. 1257-1261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike E. Siebeck ◽  
N. Justin Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
The Other ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Shallow Reef ◽  
Transmission Properties ◽  
Ocular Media ◽  
Transmission Measurements

Wrasses (Labridae) are the second largest family of fishes on the Great Barrier Reef (after the Gobiidae) and, in terms of morphology and lifestyle, one of the most diverse. They occupy all zones of the reef from the very shallow reef flats to deep slopes, feeding on a variety of fauna. Many wrasses also have elaborately patterned bodies and reflect a range of colours from ultraviolet (UV) to far red. As a first step to investigating the visual system of these fishes we measured the transmission properties of the ocular media of 36 species from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, and Hawaii, California and the Florida Keys, USA. Transmission measurements were made of whole eyes with a window cut into the back, and also of isolated lenses and corneas. Based on the transmission properties of the corneas the species could be split into two distinct groups within which the exact wavelength of the cut–off was variable. One group had visibly yellow corneas, while the corneas of the other group appeared clear to human observers. Five species had ocular media that transmitted wavelengths below 400 nm, making a perception of UV wavelengths for those species possible. Possible functional roles for the different filter types are discussed.

The influence of stimulus and background colour on signal visibility in the lizard Anolis cristatellus

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (9) ◽  
pp. 1559-1575 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.J. Fleishman ◽  
M. Persons
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Brightness Contrast ◽  
System Response ◽  
Signal Design ◽  
Light Conditions ◽  
Chromatic Contrast ◽  
Long Wavelength ◽  
Peak Sensitivity ◽  
Multi Linear Regression ◽  
To Receive

Anoline lizards communicate with visual displays in which they open and close a colourful throat fan called the dewlap. We used a visual fixation reflex as an assay to test the effects of stimulus versus background chromatic and brightness contrast on the probability of detecting a moving coloured (i.e. dewlap-like) stimulus in Anolis cristatellus. The probability of stimulus detection depended on two additive visual-system channels, one responding to brightness contrast and one responding to chromatic contrast, independent of brightness. The brightness channel was influenced only by wavelengths longer than 450nm and probably received input only from middle- and/or long-wavelength photoreceptors. The chromatic contrast channel appeared to receive input from three, or possibly four, different classes of cone in the anoline retina, including one with peak sensitivity in the ultraviolet. We developed a multi-linear regression equation that described most of the results of this study to a reasonable degree of accuracy. In the future, this equation could be used to predict the relative visibility of different-coloured stimuli in different habitat light conditions, which should be very useful for testing hypotheses that attempt to relate habitat light conditions and visual-system response to the evolution of signal design.

scholarly journals The butterfly Papilio xuthus detects visual motion using chromatic contrast

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 20150687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finlay J. Stewart ◽  
Michiyo Kinoshita ◽  
Kentaro Arikawa
Keyword(s):  
Motion Detection ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Luminance Contrast ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Motion Vision ◽  
Measuring Head ◽  
Chromatic Contrast ◽  
Contrast Polarity ◽  
Papilio Xuthus ◽  
Colour Patterns

Many insects’ motion vision is achromatic and thus dependent on brightness rather than on colour contrast. We investigate whether this is true of the butterfly Papilio xuthus , an animal noted for its complex retinal organization, by measuring head movements of restrained animals in response to moving two-colour patterns. Responses were never eliminated across a range of relative colour intensities, indicating that motion can be detected through chromatic contrast in the absence of luminance contrast. Furthermore, we identify an interaction between colour and contrast polarity in sensitivity to achromatic patterns, suggesting that ON and OFF contrasts are processed by two channels with different spectral sensitivities. We propose a model of the motion detection process in the retina/lamina based on these observations.

Molecular cloning and characterization of five opsin genes from the marine flatfish Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus)

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 767-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
JON V. HELVIK ◽  
ØYVIND DRIVENES ◽  
TORE H. NÆSS ◽  
ANDERS FJOSE ◽  
HEE-CHAN SEO
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Photoreceptor Cells ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Atlantic Halibut ◽  
Marine Teleost ◽  
Sequence Comparisons ◽  
Hippoglossus Hippoglossus ◽  
Larval Phase ◽  
Retina Development ◽  
Single Cone

Most molecular studies on the visual system in fish have been performed on freshwater teleosts such as goldfish and zebrafish where cones and rods appear simultaneously. Many marine fishes have long larval phase in the upper pelagic zone before transformation into a juvenile and a benthic life style. The retina at the larval stages consists of only single cone cells; later during metamorphosis double cones and rods develop. The flatfish Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) is a typical example of a marine species with such a two-step retina development. In this study, we have cloned five different opsins from Atlantic halibut larvae and juvenile retinas. Sequence comparisons with other opsins and phylogenetic analysis show that the five genes belong to the opsins of long-wavelength sensitive (L); middle-wavelength sensitive, MCone and MRod; and short-wavelength sensitive, SBlue and SUltraviolet, respectively. In situ hybridization analysis reveals expression in double cone (L and MCone), single cone (SBlue and SUltraviolet), and rod (MRod) types of photoreceptor cells in juvenile halibut retina. The visual system in Atlantic halibut seems therefore to have all four types of cone photoreceptors in addition to rod photoreceptors. This work shows for the first time molecular isolation of a complete set of retinal visual pigment genes from a marine teleost and describes the first cloning of an ultraviolet-sensitive opsin type from a marine teleost.

S-cone discrimination for stimuli with spatial and temporal chromatic contrast

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
DINGCAI CAO ◽  
ANDREW J. ZELE ◽  
VIVIANNE C. SMITH ◽  
JOEL POKORNY
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Stimulus Condition ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Natural Scenes ◽  
Test Field ◽  
Temporal Contrast ◽  
Chromatic Contrast ◽  
Laboratory Methods ◽  
Spatio Temporal

In the natural environment, color discriminations are made within a rich context of spatial and temporal variation. In classical laboratory methods for studying chromatic discrimination, there is typically a border between the test and adapting fields that introduces a spatial chromatic contrast signal. Typically, the roles of spatial and temporal contrast on chromatic discrimination are not assessed in the laboratory approach. In this study, S-cone discrimination was measured using stimulus paradigms that controlled the level of spatio-temporal S-cone contrast between the tests and adapting fields. The results indicate that S-cone discrimination of chromaticity differences between a pedestal and adapting surround is equivalent for stimuli containing spatial, temporal or spatial-and-temporal chromatic contrast between the test field and the surround. For a stimulus condition that did not contain spatial or temporal contrast, the visual system adapted to the pedestal instead of the surround. The data are interpreted in terms of a model consistent with primate koniocellular pathway physiology. The paradigms provide an approach for studying the effects of spatial and temporal contrast on discrimination in natural scenes.

scholarly journals Probing Computation in the Primate Visual System at Single-Cone Resolution

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kling ◽  
G.D. Field ◽  
D.H. Brainard ◽  
E.J. Chichilnisky
Keyword(s):  
Visual System ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Visual Inputs ◽  
Single Cone ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Technical Advances

Daylight vision begins when light activates cone photoreceptors in the retina, creating spatial patterns of neural activity. These cone signals are then combined and processed in downstream neural circuits, ultimately producing visual perception. Recent technical advances have made it possible to deliver visual stimuli to the retina that probe this processing by the visual system at its elementary resolution of individual cones. Physiological recordings from nonhuman primate retinas reveal the spatial organization of cone signals in retinal ganglion cells, including how signals from cones of different types are combined to support both spatial and color vision. Psychophysical experiments with human subjects characterize the visual sensations evoked by stimulating a single cone, including the perception of color. Future combined physiological and psychophysical experiments focusing on probing the elementary visual inputs are likely to clarify how neural processing generates our perception of the visual world.

scholarly journals Shape matters: animal colour patterns as signals of individual quality

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1849) ◽  
pp. 20162446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Pérez-Rodríguez ◽  
Roger Jovani ◽  
Martin Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Evolutionary Developmental Biology ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Individual Quality ◽  
Colour Intensity ◽  
Model Species ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Colour Patterns ◽  
Pattern Variability

Colour patterns (e.g. irregular, spotted or barred forms) are widespread in the animal kingdom, yet their potential role as signals of quality has been mostly neglected. However, a review of the published literature reveals that pattern itself (irrespective of its size or colour intensity) is a promising signal of individual quality across species of many different taxa. We propose at least four main pathways whereby patterns may reliably reflect individual quality: (i) as conventional signals of status, (ii) as indices of developmental homeostasis, (iii) by amplifying cues of somatic integrity and (iv) by amplifying individual investment in maintenance activities. Methodological constraints have traditionally hampered research on the signalling potential of colour patterns. To overcome this, we report a series of tools (e.g. colour adjacency and pattern regularity analyses, Fourier and granularity approaches, fractal geometry, geometric morphometrics) that allow objective quantification of pattern variability. We discuss how information provided by these methods should consider the visual system of the model species and behavioural responses to pattern metrics, in order to allow biologically meaningful conclusions. Finally, we propose future challenges in this research area that will require a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together inputs from genetics, physiology, behavioural ecology and evolutionary-developmental biology.

Cone and rod inputs to murine retinal ganglion cells: Evidence of cone opsin specific channels

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
BJORN EKESTEN ◽  
PETER GOURAS
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Retinal Ganglion Cells ◽  
Ganglion Cells ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Opposite Polarity ◽  
Retinal Ganglion ◽  
Chromatic Contrast ◽  
Cone Opsin ◽  
Physiological Capacity ◽  
Cone Opsins

To identify ultraviolet (UV) and middle- (M) wavelength-sensitive cone and rod signals in murine retinal ganglion cells, single ganglion cell responses were studied in anesthetized, light-adapted C57/BL6 mice with tungsten microelectrodes driven through the sclera and vitreous to the neural retina. One hundred fifty-four ganglion cells were examined in 43 retinas of 34 mice. The retina was stimulated with diffuse flashes and/or pulses of ultraviolet (360 nm) or green (520 nm) light in the presence and absence of a strong steady orange adapting light. Twelve ganglion cells were studied in the dark-adapted retina in order to identify the signals of rods. Three functionally different types of ganglion cells were found: (1) phasic responding cells (31%) with no spontaneous activity and large impulse amplitudes; (2) tonic responding cells (60%) with irregular, low frequency (5–10 Hz) spontaneous activity and smaller impulse amplitudes; and (3) metronome-like cells (9%) with regular, relatively high-frequency (20–40 Hz) spontaneous activity. A few cells (1%) had habituating responses. Every cell encountered was affected by diffuse stimulation. The more common two types were excited at either the ON or OFF or at both the ON and OFF phases of stimulation. Type III cells had weaker responses, sometimes only inhibited by turning off a light. In the light-adapted state, most cells received signals of the same polarity from UV- and M-cones but UV-cone inputs were usually more dominant, especially in ventral retina. A fraction of cells received signals from only UV- (18%) or only M- (3%) cones. In rare cases (2%) these cone inputs had an opposite polarity on the same cell. In the dark-adapted state, all cells were at least four or five logarithmic units more sensitive and more to green than ultraviolet light. The results indicate that co-expression of both UV-and M-cone opsins cannot be ubiquitous in murine retina. Some cones, especially UV cones, exist without the presence of any functional M-cone opsin. This must be the case to explain the presence of ganglion cells that receive inputs only from UV-cones and others that receive inputs of opposite polarity from UV- and M-cones. The results support the hypothesis that murine retina has the physiological capacity to relay signals to the brain that allow the sensing of chromatic contrast and color vision.

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