Comparative system identification of flower tracking performance in three hawkmoth species reveals adaptations for dim light vision.

ABSTRACT: Flight control in insects is heavily dependent on vision. Thus, in dim light, the decreased reliability of visual signal detection also prompts consequences for insect flight. We have an emerging understanding of the neural mechanisms that different species employ to adapt the visual system to low light. However, much less explored are comparative analyses of how low light affects the flight behaviour of insect species, and the corresponding links between physiological adaptations and behaviour. We investigated whether the flower tracking behaviour of three hawkmoth species with different diel activity patterns revealed luminance-dependent adaptations, using a system identification approach. We found clear luminance-dependent differences in flower tracking in all three species, which were

SUBMITTER: Stockl AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5312027 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature