Floral Iridescence, Produced by Diffractive Optics, Acts As a Cue for Animal Pollinators
Floral Iridescence, Produced by Diffractive Optics, Acts As a Cue for Animal Pollinators
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1166256
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发表时间：
2009-01-02
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Glover, Beverley J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Whitney, Heather M.;Kolle, Mathias;Glover, Beverley J.
彩虹色是一种在不同观察角度下表面色调的变化，被昆虫、鸟类、鱼类和爬行动物用于物种识别和配偶选择。我们确定了彩虹色的木槿和郁金香物种的花，并证明彩虹色是通过衍射光栅，可能是广泛的显花植物。虽然虹彩可能会增加吸引力，但它也可能会损害目标识别，因为对象的外观会根据观看者的视角而变化。我们发现，熊蜂（熊蜂terrestris）学会解开花的彩虹色的颜色和正确识别彩虹色的花朵，尽管他们不断变化的外观。在没有来自与衍射光栅相关联的偏振光或紫外线反射的线索的情况下，这种能力得以保留。
Iridescence, the change in hue of a surface with varying observation angles, is used by insects, birds, fish, and reptiles for species recognition and mate selection. We identified iridescence in flowers of Hibiscus trionum and Tulipa species and demonstrated that iridescence is generated through diffraction gratings that might be widespread among flowering plants. Although iridescence might be expected to increase attractiveness, it might also compromise target identification because the object's appearance will vary depending on the viewer's perspective. We found that bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) learn to disentangle flower iridescence from color and correctly identify iridescent flowers despite their continuously changing appearance. This ability is retained in the absence of cues from polarized light or ultraviolet reflectance associated with diffraction gratings.