Polarization vision and its role in biological signaling
Polarization vision and its role in biological signaling
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DOI：
10.1093/icb/43.4.549
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发表时间：
2003-08-01
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Chiou, TH
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cronin, TW;Shashar, N;Chiou, TH
视觉色素是感光器中启动视觉过程的分子，本质上是二向色的，根据其偏振轴有差异地吸收光。许多动物利用这一特性来构建能够分析入射光偏振的受体系统，因为偏振光在自然场景中非常丰富（通常由散射或反射产生）。这种偏振敏感性长期以来一直与定向或导航等行为任务有关。然而，直到最近，我们才意识到它可以被纳入类似于色觉的高级视觉感知中，允许将所观察的场景分割成偏振不同的区域。与色觉类似，我们称这种能力为偏振视觉。它显然是用于像那些彩色视觉专门的任务：对比度增强，伪装破坏，物体识别，信号检测和歧视。虽然颜色在陆地或浅水环境中非常有用，但由于光在不同深度或不同光学质量的水中传播时会发生光谱变化，因此在水中较深的地方它是一个不可靠的线索。在这里，偏振视觉具有特殊的用途，因此已经在许多海洋物种以及至少一种陆地动物中进化。在这篇综述中，我们考虑了最近的研究结果偏振视觉及其意义的生物信号。
Visual pigments, the molecules in photoreceptors that initiate the process of vision, are inherently dichroic, differentially absorbing light according to its axis of polarization. Many animals have taken advantage of this property to build receptor systems capable of analyzing the polarization of incoming light, as polarized light is abundant in natural scenes (commonly being produced by scattering or reflection). Such polarization sensitivity has long been associated with behavioral tasks like orientation or navigation. However, only recently have we become aware that it can be incorporated into a high-level visual perception akin to color vision, permitting segmentation of a viewed scene into regions that differ in their polarization. By analogy to color vision, we call this capacity polarization vision. It is apparently used for tasks like those that color vision specializes in: contrast enhancement, camouflage breaking, object recognition, and signal detection and discrimination. While color is very useful in terrestrial or shallow-water environments, it is an unreliable cue deeper in water due to the spectral modification of light as it travels through water of various depths or of varying optical quality. Here, polarization vision has special utility and consequently has evolved in numerous marine species, as well as at least one terrestrial animal. In this review, we consider recent findings concerning polarization vision and its significance in biological signaling.