Vision and the light environment.
Författare
Summary, in English
Almost all animals, no matter how humble, possess eyes. Only those that live in total darkness, such as in a pitch-dark cave, may lack eyes entirely. Even at tremendous depths in the ocean - where the only lights that are ever seen are rare and fitful sparks of bioluminescence - most animals have eyes, and often surprisingly well-developed eyes. And despite their diversity (there are currently ten generally recognised optical types) all eyes have evolved in response to the remarkably varied light environments that are present in the habitats where animals live. Variations in the intensity of light, as well as in its direction, colour and dominant planes of polarisation, have all had dramatic effects on visual evolution. In the terrestrial habitats where we ourselves have most recently evolved, the light environment can vary quite markedly from day to night and from one location to another. In aquatic habitats, this variation can be orders of magnitude greater. Even though the ecologies and life histories of animals have played a major role in visual evolution, it is arguably the physical limitations imposed on photodetection by a given habitat and its light environment that have defined the basic selective pressures that have driven the evolution of eyes.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
2013
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
990-994
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Current Biology
Volym
23
Issue
22
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Elsevier
Ämne
- Zoology
Status
Published
Forskningsgrupp
- Lund Vision Group
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1879-0445