Ecological Entomology: How Is Gibson’s Framework Useful?

Abstract

To date, numerous studies have demonstrated the fundamental role played by optic flow in the control of goal-directed displacement tasks in insects. Optic flow was first introduced by Gibson as part of their ecological approach to perception and action. While this theoretical approach (as a whole) has been demonstrated to be particularly suitable for the study of goal-directed displacements in humans, its usefulness in carrying out entomological field studies remains to be established. In this review we would like to demonstrate that the ecological approach to perception and action could be relevant for the entomologist community in their future investigations. This approach could provide a conceptual and methodological framework for the community in order to: (i) take a critical look at the research carried out to date, (ii) develop rigorous and innovative experimental protocols, and (iii) define scientific issues that push the boundaries of the current scientific field. After a concise literature review about the perceptual control of displacement in insects, we will present the framework proposed by Gibson and suggest its added value for carrying out research in the field of behavioral ecology in insects.

Bumblebees land rapidly by intermittently accelerating and decelerating toward the surface during visually guided landings

“…The relative rate of expansion r or the optical variable τ are both measures of the remaining time before collision (time-to-contact) without requiring any explicit measurement of the relative distance of the animal from the object or the speed of the animal ( Lee, 1976 ; Gibson, 1986 ). From a pure viewpoint of the Gibson’s framework, these perceptual variables can be measured directly by an animal’s visual system (including human's) to estimate the time-to-contact ( Gibson, 1986 ; Serres and Ruffier, 2017 ; Dauxère et al., 2021 ). The relative rate of expansion r or the optical variable τ encodes the ratio of approach velocity V and distance to the landing surface y as r = V / y or τ = y / V ( Figure 1 A).…”

Floor and ceiling mirror configurations to study altitude control in honeybees

“…Straw et al [15] demonstrated that flies do not use ventral optic flow in their altitude control. Our findings could be expanded or be useful in other insect species to test whether they are sensitive to ventral optic flow, or if other optical information controls their altitude [16]. Our set-up could also be re-scaled to study the effect of optic flow on altitude control in birds [17,18].…”

Honeybees Use Multiple Invariants to Control Their Altitude

“…It provides information about the environment's structure and about the displacement of the agent in relation to these structures [1,2]. Gibson's framework has already proven its suitability in addressing issues related to the control of human displacement [5][6][7][8][9], as well as that of some birds [10][11][12], most flying insects [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23], and robots [15,17].…”