Ultraviolet Vision May Enhance the Ability of Reindeer to Discriminate Plants in Snow

Tyler, N. J. C.; Jeffery, Glen; Hogg, Chris; Stokkan, Karl‐Arne

doi:10.14430/arctic4381

Cited by 21 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In an interesting twist, night-foraging hawkmoths (which possess UVS photoreceptors) actively avoid flowers that reflect UV, demonstrating both that UV is not itself invariably attractive and that a UV signal can be useful by its absence as well as its presence (White et al, 1994). In an analogous case from the Arctic, reindeer browse on plants including lichen and moss in dim Arctic twilight; because these plants reflect little UV light they contrast well against white snow and are easily seen by a reindeer (Tyler et al, 2014a). Thus, a major benefit of UV sensitivity in these animals could be an enhanced ability to forage effectively in snow.…”

Section: Foraging and Predator/prey Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photoreception and vision in the ultraviolet

Cronin

Bok

2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

154

128

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ultraviolet (UV) light occupies the spectral range of wavelengths slightly shorter than those visible to humans. Because of its shorter wavelength, it is more energetic (and potentially more photodamaging) than 'visible light', and it is scattered more efficiently in air and water. Until 1990, only a few animals were recognized as being sensitive to UV light, but we now know that a great diversity, possibly even the majority, of animal species can visually detect and respond to it. Here, we discuss the history of research on biological UV photosensitivity and review current major research trends in this field. Some animals use their UV photoreceptors to control simple, innate behaviors, but most incorporate their UV receptors into their general sense of vision. They not only detect UV light but recognize it as a separate color in light fields, on natural objects or living organisms, or in signals displayed by conspecifics. UV visual pigments are based on opsins, the same family of proteins that are used to detect light in conventional photoreceptors. Despite some interesting exceptions, most animal species have a single photoreceptor class devoted to the UV. The roles of UV in vision are manifold, from guiding navigation and orientation behavior, to detecting food and potential predators, to supporting high-level tasks such as mate assessment and intraspecific communication. Our current understanding of UV vision is restricted almost entirely to two phyla: arthropods and chordates (specifically, vertebrates), so there is much comparative work to be done.

show abstract

Section: Foraging and Predator/prey Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photoreception and vision in the ultraviolet

Cronin

Bok

2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

154

128

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This independence of strong circadian constraints during summer and winter allows opportunistic feeding behaviour, which may make an important difference for animals constantly living on the edge. In reindeer, this may be further facilitated in winter by the apparent extension of their visual range into the ultraviolet (Hogg et al, 2011); it is surmised that this may enhance their ability to discriminate plants in snow (Tyler et al, 2014).…”

Section: Variations In Photoperiodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptations to polar life in mammals and birds

Blix

2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

141

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This Review presents a broad overview of adaptations of truly Arctic and Antarctic mammals and birds to the challenges of polar life. The polar environment may be characterized by grisly cold, scarcity of food and darkness in winter, and lush conditions and continuous light in summer. Resident animals cope with these changes by behavioural, physical and physiological means. These include responses aimed at reducing exposure, such as 'balling up', huddling and shelter building; seasonal changes in insulation by fur, plumage and blubber; and circulatory adjustments aimed at preservation of core temperature, to which end the periphery and extremities are cooled to increase insulation. Newborn altricial animals have profound tolerance to hypothermia, but depend on parental care for warmth, whereas precocial mammals are well insulated and respond to cold with non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, and precocial birds shiver to produce heat. Most polar animals prepare themselves for shortness of food during winter by the deposition of large amounts of fat in times of plenty during autumn. These deposits are governed by a sliding set-point for body fatness throughout winter so that they last until the sun reappears in spring. Polar animals are, like most others, primarily active during the light part of the day, but when the sun never sets in summer and darkness prevails during winter, high-latitude animals become intermittently active around the clock, allowing opportunistic feeding at all times. The importance of understanding the needs of the individuals of a species to understand the responses of populations in times of climate change is emphasized.

show abstract

“…This is due to the fact that short wavelength UV light is more prominent in the twilight sky than green light due to ozone absorption and atmospheric scattering (discussed in Johnsen et al, 2006). Interestingly, increased scattering of UV light is also present underwater and in the snow and has been linked to specific behaviors in UV-sensitive fish (Losey et al, 1999) and arctic reindeer (Tyler et al, 2014). Therefore, an increase in UV sensitivity of mouse visual neurons for an alert behavioral state might facilitate the detection of predators visible as dark silhouettes in the sky.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral state tunes mouse vision to ethological features through pupil dilation

Franke

Willeke

Ponder

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Across animal species, sensory processing dynamically adapts to behavioral context. In the mammalian visual system, sensory neural responses and behavioral performance increase during an active behavioral state characterized by locomotion activity and pupil dilation, whereas preferred stimuli of individual neurons typically remain unchanged. Here, we address how behavioral states modulate stimulus selectivity in the context of colored natural scenes using a combination of large-scale population imaging, behavior, pharmacology, and deep neural network modeling. In visual cortex of awake mice, we identified a consistent shift of individual neuron color preferences towards ultraviolet stimuli during active behavioral periods that was particularly pronounced in the upper visual field. We found that the spectral shift in neural tuning is mediated by pupil dilation, resulting in a dynamic switch from rod- to cone-driven visual responses for constant ambient light levels. We further showed that this shift selectively enhances the discriminability of ultraviolet objects and facilitates the detection of ethological stimuli, such as aerial predators against the ultraviolet background of the twilight sky. Our results suggest a novel functional role for pupil dilation during active behavioral states as a bottom-up mechanism that, together with top-down neuromodulatory mechanisms, dynamically tunes visual representations to different behavioral demands.

show abstract

Ultraviolet Vision May Enhance the Ability of Reindeer to Discriminate Plants in Snow

Cited by 21 publications

References 46 publications

Photoreception and vision in the ultraviolet

Photoreception and vision in the ultraviolet

Adaptations to polar life in mammals and birds

Behavioral state tunes mouse vision to ethological features through pupil dilation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About