The Impact of the Spectral Radiation Environment on the Maximum Absorption Wavelengths of Human Vision and Other Species
Since the earliest development of the eye (and vision) around 530 million years ago (Mya), it has evolved, adapting to different habitats, species, and changing environmental conditions on Earth. We argue that a radiation environment determined by the atmosphere played a determining role in the evol...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Life |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/12/1337 |
| _version_ | 1797502888087388160 |
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| author | Samuel Konatham Javier Martín-Torres Maria-Paz Zorzano |
| author_facet | Samuel Konatham Javier Martín-Torres Maria-Paz Zorzano |
| author_sort | Samuel Konatham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since the earliest development of the eye (and vision) around 530 million years ago (Mya), it has evolved, adapting to different habitats, species, and changing environmental conditions on Earth. We argue that a radiation environment determined by the atmosphere played a determining role in the evolution of vision, specifically on the human eye, which has three vision regimes (photopic-, scotopic-, and mesopic vision) for different illumination conditions. An analysis of the irradiance spectra, reaching the shallow ocean depths, revealed that the available radiation could have determined the bandwidth of the precursor to vision systems, including human vision. We used the radiative transfer model to test the existing hypotheses on human vision. We argue that, once on the surface, the human photopic (daytime) and scotopic (night-time) vision followed different evolutionary directions, maximum total energy, and optimum information, respectively. Our analysis also suggests that solar radiation reflected from the moon had little or no influence on the evolution of scotopic vision. Our results indicate that, apart from human vision, the vision of only a few birds, rodents, and deep-sea fish are strongly correlated to the available radiation within their respective habitats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:42:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-020d98e081f24d0b8d04885ac9507d0e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1729 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:42:35Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Life |
| spelling | doaj.art-020d98e081f24d0b8d04885ac9507d0e2023-11-23T09:14:00ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292021-12-011112133710.3390/life11121337The Impact of the Spectral Radiation Environment on the Maximum Absorption Wavelengths of Human Vision and Other SpeciesSamuel Konatham0Javier Martín-Torres1Maria-Paz Zorzano2Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, SwedenDepartment of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, SwedenDepartment of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, SwedenSince the earliest development of the eye (and vision) around 530 million years ago (Mya), it has evolved, adapting to different habitats, species, and changing environmental conditions on Earth. We argue that a radiation environment determined by the atmosphere played a determining role in the evolution of vision, specifically on the human eye, which has three vision regimes (photopic-, scotopic-, and mesopic vision) for different illumination conditions. An analysis of the irradiance spectra, reaching the shallow ocean depths, revealed that the available radiation could have determined the bandwidth of the precursor to vision systems, including human vision. We used the radiative transfer model to test the existing hypotheses on human vision. We argue that, once on the surface, the human photopic (daytime) and scotopic (night-time) vision followed different evolutionary directions, maximum total energy, and optimum information, respectively. Our analysis also suggests that solar radiation reflected from the moon had little or no influence on the evolution of scotopic vision. Our results indicate that, apart from human vision, the vision of only a few birds, rodents, and deep-sea fish are strongly correlated to the available radiation within their respective habitats.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/12/1337human visionatmospherephotopic visionscotopic visionevolutionastrobiology |
| spellingShingle | Samuel Konatham Javier Martín-Torres Maria-Paz Zorzano The Impact of the Spectral Radiation Environment on the Maximum Absorption Wavelengths of Human Vision and Other Species Life human vision atmosphere photopic vision scotopic vision evolution astrobiology |
| title | The Impact of the Spectral Radiation Environment on the Maximum Absorption Wavelengths of Human Vision and Other Species |
| title_full | The Impact of the Spectral Radiation Environment on the Maximum Absorption Wavelengths of Human Vision and Other Species |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of the Spectral Radiation Environment on the Maximum Absorption Wavelengths of Human Vision and Other Species |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of the Spectral Radiation Environment on the Maximum Absorption Wavelengths of Human Vision and Other Species |
| title_short | The Impact of the Spectral Radiation Environment on the Maximum Absorption Wavelengths of Human Vision and Other Species |
| title_sort | impact of the spectral radiation environment on the maximum absorption wavelengths of human vision and other species |
| topic | human vision atmosphere photopic vision scotopic vision evolution astrobiology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/12/1337 |
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