scholarly journals An unsuccessful attempt to elicit orientation responses to linearly polarized light in hatchling loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta )

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1565) ◽  
pp. 757-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia M. Mäthger ◽  
Kenneth J. Lohmann ◽  
Colin J. Limpus ◽  
Kerstin A. Fritsches
Keyword(s):  
Light Field ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Light Emitting Diode ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Caretta Caretta ◽  
Polarization Sensitivity ◽  
Light Perception ◽  
Unsuccessful Attempt ◽  
Swimming Direction

Sea turtles undertake long migrations in the open ocean, during which they rely at least partly on magnetic cues for navigation. In principle, sensitivity to polarized light might be an additional sensory capability that aids navigation. Furthermore, polarization sensitivity has been linked to ultraviolet (UV) light perception which is present in sea turtles. Here, we tested the ability of hatchling loggerheads ( Caretta caretta ) to maintain a swimming direction in the presence of broad-spectrum polarized light. At the start of each trial, hatchling turtles, with their magnetic sense temporarily impaired by magnets, successfully established a steady course towards a light-emitting diode (LED) light source while the polarized light field was present. When the LED was removed, however, hatchlings failed to maintain a steady swimming direction, even though the polarized light field remained. Our results have failed to provide evidence for polarized light perception in young sea turtles and suggest that alternative cues guide the initial migration offshore.

scholarly journals The linearly polarized light field in clear, tropical marine waters: spatial and temporal variation of light intensity, degree of polarization and e-vector angle

2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (14) ◽  
pp. 2461-2467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Cronin ◽  
Nadav Shashar
Keyword(s):  
Light Field ◽  
Marine Invertebrates ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Degree Of Polarization ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Polarization Sensitivity ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Linearly Polarized ◽  
Vector Angle

SUMMARYSensitivity to polarized light is widespread among marine animals, including crustaceans, cephalopods and some fishes. They use this ability to orient and find prey, and possibly for a number of other visual tasks. Unlike the ultraviolet-sensitive polarization receptors of most insects, the polarization receptors of marine invertebrates tend to be maximally sensitive near 500nm, suggesting that polarized light in water differs from that in air. The underwater field of partially linearly polarized light has been studied for nearly 50 years, but data are still limited and sparse. We measured the submarine polarized light field from 350 to 600nm throughout the day on a coral reef in the Florida Keys at a depth of 15m using the underwater laboratory Aquarius as a research platform. Our results show that the angle of polarization as viewed along any given line of sight at this depth is a relatively simple function of solar position and that the degree of polarization is greatest 60–90° from the sun. Both e-vector angle and degree of polarization vary only slightly with wavelength, although light is sometimes less polarized in the ultraviolet. Since light is most intense at medium wavelengths and polarization is nearly maximal at these wavelengths, invertebrate polarization photoreceptors are spectrally well placed. Also, the relative spectral constancy of the angle and degree of polarization supports fish polarization sensitivity, which relies on spectrally diverse photoreceptor sets.

scholarly journals Perceiving polarization with the naked eye: characterization of human polarization sensitivity

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1811) ◽  
pp. 20150338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby E. Temple ◽  
Juliette E. McGregor ◽  
Camilla Miles ◽  
Laura Graham ◽  
Josie Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Light Field ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Age Related Macular Degeneration ◽  
Polarization Sensitivity ◽  
Polarization Angle ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Polarization Of Light ◽  
Lower Limits

Like many animals, humans are sensitive to the polarization of light. We can detect the angle of polarization using an entoptic phenomenon called Haidinger's brushes, which is mediated by dichroic carotenoids in the macula lutea. While previous studies have characterized the spectral sensitivity of Haidinger's brushes, other aspects remain unexplored. We developed a novel methodology for presenting gratings in polarization-only contrast at varying degrees of polarization in order to measure the lower limits of human polarized light detection. Participants were, on average, able to perform the task down to a threshold of 56%, with some able to go as low as 23%. This makes humans the most sensitive vertebrate tested to date. Additionally, we quantified a nonlinear relationship between presented and perceived polarization angle when an observer is presented with a rotatable polarized light field. This result confirms a previous theoretical prediction of how uniaxial corneal birefringence impacts the perception of Haidinger's brushes. The rotational dynamics of Haidinger's brushes were then used to calculate corneal retardance. We suggest that psychophysical experiments, based upon the perception of polarized light, are amenable to the production of affordable technologies for self-assessment and longitudinal monitoring of visual dysfunctions such as age-related macular degeneration.

Mortality of sea turtles Caretta caretta in coastal waters of Georgia

1982 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Ruckdescheil ◽  
George R. Zug
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Caretta Caretta

Pharmacokinetics of Marbofloxacin in Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) after Single Intravenous and Intramuscular Doses

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olimpia R. Lai ◽  
Pedro Marín ◽  
Pietro Laricchiuta ◽  
Giacomo Marzano ◽  
Giuseppe Crescenzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Caretta Caretta ◽  
Loggerhead Sea Turtles

scholarly journals Ultraviolet polarization vision in fishes: possible mechanisms for coding e–vector

2000 ◽  
Vol 355 (1401) ◽  
pp. 1187-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig W. Hawryshyn
Keyword(s):  
Polarized Light ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Polarization Sensitivity ◽  
Polarization Vision ◽  
Selective Reflection ◽  
Mosaic Pattern ◽  
Cone Mosaic ◽  
Biophysical Mechanism

Polarization vision in vertebrates has been marked with significant controversy over recent decades. In the last decade, however, models from two laboratories have indicated that the spatial arrangement of photoreceptors provides the basis for polarization sensitivity.Work in my laboratory, in collaboration with I. Novales Flamarique and F. I. Harosi, has shown that polarization sensitivity depends on a well–defined square cone mosaic pattern and that the biophysical properties of the square cone mosaic probably account for polarization vision in the ultraviolet spectrum. The biophysical mechanism appears to be based on the selective reflection of axial–polarized light by the partitioning membrane, formed along the contact zone between the members of the double cones, onto neighbouring ultraviolet–sensitive cones. In this short review, I discuss the historical development of this research problem.

Steady state of atoms in a monochromatic elliptically polarized light field

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Nienhuis ◽  
A. V Taichenachev ◽  
A. M Tumaikin ◽  
V. I Yudin
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Light Field ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Elliptically Polarized Light ◽  
Elliptically Polarized
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