Selection of the intrinsic polarization properties of animal optical materials creates enhanced structural reflectivity and camouflage.
Selection of the intrinsic polarization properties of animal optical materials creates enhanced structural reflectivity and camouflage.
复制标题
DOI：
10.1098/rstb.2016.0336
复制
发表时间：
2017-07-05
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Roberts NW
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Feller KD;Jordan TM;Wilby D;Roberts NW
许多动物使用结构色彩来制造明亮和明显的视觉信号。动物使用的光学结构的大小和形状的选择决定了反射光的颜色和强度。用于制造这些反射器的材料也很重要；然而，动物只能使用有限的几种物质：通常是几丁质、鸟嘌呤和蛋白质、反射素。在这项工作中，我们强调，为了增加结构反射器的光学功能，也可以选择一组特定的材料属性。具体来说，偏振特性，如双折射（材料折射率之间的差异）和手性（与分子不对称有关）都在选择中，以创建增强的结构反射率。我们证明了金色甲虫Chrysina resplendens的结构颜色和大西洋鲱鱼Clupea harengus的银色反射面是这种现象的两个例子。重要的是，这些偏振特性没有被选择来控制作为视觉信息源本身的反射光的偏振。相反，通过创造比其他方法更高的反射率，这种内部偏振特性改善了强度匹配伪装。本文是“动物着色：生产、感知、功能和应用”主题的一部分。
Many animals use structural coloration to create bright and conspicuous visual signals. Selection of the size and shape of the optical structures animals use defines both the colour and intensity of the light reflected. The material used to create these reflectors is also important; however, animals are restricted to a limited number of materials: commonly chitin, guanine and the protein, reflectin. In this work we highlight that a particular set of material properties can also be under selection in order to increase the optical functionality of structural reflectors. Specifically, polarization properties, such as birefringence (the difference between the refractive indices of a material) and chirality (which relates to molecular asymmetry) are both under selection to create enhanced structural reflectivity. We demonstrate that the structural coloration of the gold beetle Chrysina resplendens and silvery reflective sides of the Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus are two examples of this phenomenon. Importantly, these polarization properties are not selected to control the polarization of the reflected light as a source of visual information per se. Instead, by creating higher levels of reflectivity than are otherwise possible, such internal polarization properties improve intensity-matching camouflage. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Animal coloration: production, perception, function and application’.