The use of polarized light in the zonal orientation of the sandhopper Talitrus saltator (Montagu).

ABSTRACT: It is well known that the celestial polarization is used as a compass cue by many species of insects and crustaceans. Although it has been shown that the sandhopper Talitrus saltator perceives polarized light and possesses an arrangement of the rhabdomeres that could allow e-vector interpretation and utilization, T. saltator does not use the e-vector of the skylight polarization as a compass cue when making excursions along the sea-land axis of sandy shores. We performed tests in confined conditions to clarify if skylight polarization is somehow involved in the zonal recovery of T. saltator. We observed the directional responses of sandhoppers in a transparent bowl under an artificial sky (an opaline Plexiglas dome). The bowl was covered by a blue gelatin filter with a grey filter (control

SUBMITTER: Ugolini A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10193715 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature