The evolution of polarization vision in stomatopods: molecules, signaling, and behavior
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1
University of Maryland Baltimore County, Department of Biological Sciences, United States
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2
University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences, United Kingdom
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3
University of California, Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, United States
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4
University of Queensland, Sensory Neurobiology Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, Australia
Polarization sensitivity occurs throughout the animal kingdom, including in pancrustaceans, cephalopods, echinoderms, and chordates. Although much of the research investigating this sensory mode has focused on its use in navigation, animals use polarized light for a diverse set of imaging visual tasks. The evolution of this sensory modality occurs across multiple levels of biological organization, including molecular, signaling, and behavior, best illustrated in the stomatopod crustaceans. These animals have unique visual system modifications for the detection of both linearly and circularly polarized light, exhibit a large diversity of polarized light signals, and potentially use this sensory modality for multiple visual tasks. Stomatopod visual systems contain a unique set of photoreceptors, among which are photoreceptors devoted to the detection of both visible and ultraviolet polarized light. The spectral sensitivity of these photoreceptors is due to the expression of a unique set of opsin proteins. Evolutionary differences among the set of opsins used in polarization detecting photoreceptors versus those devoted to color vision suggest the evolution of molecular mechanisms contributing to increased polarization sensitivity. These molecular mechanisms may include changes in either membrane composition or visual pigment interactions, such as organization into oligomers, interaction with the macromolecular scaffolding (e.g. the ‘signalplex’) involved in signal transduction, or structural contacts across microvilli. At the organismal level, stomatopod species display a diverse array of polarization signals, including red and blue linearly polarized and red circularly polarized body regions. The evolutionary patterns of these patches are complex, but suggest a labile signal. Behaviorally, the evolution and function of these signals have been investigated in the family Protosquillidae, where blue, horizontally polarized signals on the first maxillipeds are likely involved in mating and agonistic interactions. We used phylogenetic ancestral state reconstructions to investigate the evolution of color and polarization signaling versus polarization sensitivity within this family. The resulting evolutionary patterns support a model of pre-existing sensory bias for the evolution of a horizontally polarized signal.
Keywords:
Behavior,
evolution,
Opsin,
polarization vision,
signaling,
Stomatopoda
Conference:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Invited Symposium (only for people who have been invited to a particular symposium)
Topic:
Sensory: Vision
Citation:
Porter
ML,
Roberts
NW,
Caldwell
RL,
Marshall
J and
Cronin
TW
(2012). The evolution of polarization vision in stomatopods: molecules, signaling, and behavior.
Conference Abstract:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00032
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Received:
27 Apr 2012;
Published Online:
07 Jul 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Megan L Porter, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Department of Biological Sciences, Baltimore, MD, 21250, United States, Megan.Porter@usd.edu