Pterin pigments amplify iridescent ultraviolet signal in males of the orange sulphur butterfly, Colias eurytheme
Pterin pigments amplify iridescent ultraviolet signal in males of the orange sulphur butterfly, Colias eurytheme
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2005.3216
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发表时间：
2005-11-07
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Taylor-Taft, L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Rutowski, RL;Macedonia, JM;Taylor-Taft, L
动物的颜色通常是反射或散射光的纳米结构和吸收光的色素的产物。这些颜色产生机制之间的相互作用可能会影响颜色信号的功效和潜在的信息内容，但这一概念很少受到经验主义的关注。雄性橙子硫蝴蝶（Colias eurytheme）的翅鳞具有带薄片的脊，通过薄膜干涉产生明亮的彩虹色紫外线（UV）反射。奇怪的是，这些鳞片含有强烈吸收550 nm以下波长的蝶呤色素。鉴于雄性紫外线反射在C.在广翅目中，翅鳞中的色素是高度吸收紫外线的，这是矛盾的。我们提出了分光光度分析的翅膀之前和之后，蝶呤去除表明，蝶呤都抑制LTV虹彩的振幅和抑制紫外漫反射，从鳞片发出。后一种效应增强了虹彩的方向性和光谱纯度，并增加了信号的色度和潜在的信号内容。我们的研究结果还表明，蝶呤放大彩虹色的紫外线反射率和规模的背景颜色之间的对比，作为一个男性的翅膀在飞行过程中移动。
Animal colouration is typically the product of nanostructures that reflect or scatter light and pigments that absorb it. The interplay between these colour-producing mechanisms may influence the efficacy and potential information content of colour signals, but this notion has received little empirical attention. Wing scales in the male orange sulphur butterfly (Colias eurytheme) possess ridges with lamellae that produce a brilliant iridescent ultraviolet (UV) reflectance via thin-film interference. Curiously, these same scales contain pterin pigments that strongly absorb wavelengths below 550 nm. Given that male UV reflectance functions as a sexual signal in C. eurytheme, it is paradoxical that pigments in the wing scales are highly UV absorbing. We present spectrophotometric analyses of the wings before and after pterin removal that show that pterins both depress the amplitude of LTV iridescence and suppress a diffuse UV reflectance that emanates from the scales. This latter effect enhances the directionality and spectral purity of the iridescence, and increases the signal's chromaticity and potential signal content. Our findings also suggest that pterins amplify the contrast between iridescent UV reflectance and scale background colour as a male's wings move during flight.