Eye structure, activity rhythms and visually-driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in ants
Insects have evolved physiological adaptations and behavioural strategies that allow them to cope with a broad spectrum of environmental challenges and contribute to their evolutionary success. Visual performance plays a key role in this success. Correlates between life style and eye organization ha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00205/full |
| _version_ | 1817969789159604224 |
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| author | Ayse eYilmaz Ayse eYilmaz Volkan eAksoy Yilmaz eCamlitepe Martin eGiurfa Martin eGiurfa |
| author_facet | Ayse eYilmaz Ayse eYilmaz Volkan eAksoy Yilmaz eCamlitepe Martin eGiurfa Martin eGiurfa |
| author_sort | Ayse eYilmaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Insects have evolved physiological adaptations and behavioural strategies that allow them to cope with a broad spectrum of environmental challenges and contribute to their evolutionary success. Visual performance plays a key role in this success. Correlates between life style and eye organization have been reported in various insect species. Yet, if and how visual ecology translates effectively into different visual discrimination and learning capabilities has been less explored. Here we report results from optical and behavioural analyses performed in two sympatric ant species, Formica cunicularia and Camponotus aethiops. We show that the former are diurnal while the latter are cathemeral. Accordingly, F. cunicularia workers present compound eyes with higher resolution, while C. aethiops workers exhibit eyes with lower resolution but higher sensitivity. The discrimination and learning of visual stimuli differs significantly between these species in controlled dual-choice experiments: discrimination learning of small-field visual stimuli is achieved by F. cunicularia but not by C. aethiops, while both species master the discrimination of large-field visual stimuli. Our work thus provides a paradigmatic example about how timing of foraging activities and visual environment match the organization of compound eyes and visually-driven behaviour. This correspondence underlines the relevance of an ecological/evolutionary framework for analyses in behavioural neuroscience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T20:25:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2b6891e756db4f5180918783e8e055ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T20:25:31Z |
| publishDate | 2014-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-2b6891e756db4f5180918783e8e055ed2022-12-22T02:31:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532014-06-01810.3389/fnbeh.2014.0020592055Eye structure, activity rhythms and visually-driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in antsAyse eYilmaz0Ayse eYilmaz1Volkan eAksoy2Yilmaz eCamlitepe3Martin eGiurfa4Martin eGiurfa5Trakya University Balkan CampusUniversity of Würzburg Am HublandTrakya University Balkan CampusTrakya University Balkan CampusUniversité de ToulouseCNRSInsects have evolved physiological adaptations and behavioural strategies that allow them to cope with a broad spectrum of environmental challenges and contribute to their evolutionary success. Visual performance plays a key role in this success. Correlates between life style and eye organization have been reported in various insect species. Yet, if and how visual ecology translates effectively into different visual discrimination and learning capabilities has been less explored. Here we report results from optical and behavioural analyses performed in two sympatric ant species, Formica cunicularia and Camponotus aethiops. We show that the former are diurnal while the latter are cathemeral. Accordingly, F. cunicularia workers present compound eyes with higher resolution, while C. aethiops workers exhibit eyes with lower resolution but higher sensitivity. The discrimination and learning of visual stimuli differs significantly between these species in controlled dual-choice experiments: discrimination learning of small-field visual stimuli is achieved by F. cunicularia but not by C. aethiops, while both species master the discrimination of large-field visual stimuli. Our work thus provides a paradigmatic example about how timing of foraging activities and visual environment match the organization of compound eyes and visually-driven behaviour. This correspondence underlines the relevance of an ecological/evolutionary framework for analyses in behavioural neuroscience.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00205/fullAntsInsectsVisual PerceptionVisionActivity RhythmsCompound eye |
| spellingShingle | Ayse eYilmaz Ayse eYilmaz Volkan eAksoy Yilmaz eCamlitepe Martin eGiurfa Martin eGiurfa Eye structure, activity rhythms and visually-driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in ants Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience Ants Insects Visual Perception Vision Activity Rhythms Compound eye |
| title | Eye structure, activity rhythms and visually-driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in ants |
| title_full | Eye structure, activity rhythms and visually-driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in ants |
| title_fullStr | Eye structure, activity rhythms and visually-driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in ants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Eye structure, activity rhythms and visually-driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in ants |
| title_short | Eye structure, activity rhythms and visually-driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in ants |
| title_sort | eye structure activity rhythms and visually driven behavior are tuned to visual niche in ants |
| topic | Ants Insects Visual Perception Vision Activity Rhythms Compound eye |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00205/full |
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