Color vision and learning in the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (Nymphalidae)
Color vision and learning in the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (Nymphalidae)
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DOI：
10.1242/jeb.048728
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发表时间：
2011-02-01
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Weiss, Martha R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Blackiston, Douglas;Briscoe, Adriana D.;Weiss, Martha R.
帝王蝶Danaus plexippus以其与乳草植物的亲密关系及其令人难以置信的多代跨大陆迁徙而闻名。然而，人们对帝王蝶的颜色感知或学习能力知之甚少，尽管视觉信息在花蜜觅食，寄主植物定位和配偶识别方面对蝴蝶行为的重要性。我们使用理论和实验的方法来解决有关君主色觉和学习能力的基本问题。基于存在于眼睛中的光感受器的三个已知光谱类别的颜色空间建模表明，帝王蝶不应该能够区分长波长的颜色，而不利用在眼睛中不均匀分布的暗橙子侧向过滤色素。在花蜜觅食的背景下，帝王蝶表现出强烈的先天偏好，迅速学会将颜色与糖奖励联系起来，并像天生偏好的颜色一样快速而熟练地学习非天生偏好的颜色。蝴蝶也表现出特定颜色对之间的不对称混淆，这可能是刺激亮度的函数。君主很容易学会将第二种颜色与奖励联系起来，并且一般来说，学习参数不会随着训练的时间序列而变化。此外，帝王蝶有真正的色觉;也就是说，它们可以根据波长区分颜色，而不依赖于强度。最后，行为试验证实，帝王蝶确实利用侧向过滤色素来增强长波长的辨别力。我们的研究结果表明，帝王蝶是熟练和灵活的颜色学习者，这些能力应该使他们能够迅速响应不断变化的花蜜可用性，因为他们在迁徙路线，跨越空间和时间。
The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is well known for its intimate association with milkweed plants and its incredible multi-generational trans-continental migrations. However, little is known about monarch butterflies' color perception or learning ability, despite the importance of visual information to butterfly behavior in the contexts of nectar foraging, host-plant location and mate recognition. We used both theoretical and experimental approaches to address basic questions about monarch color vision and learning ability. Color space modeling based on the three known spectral classes of photoreceptors present in the eye suggests that monarchs should not be able to discriminate between long wavelength colors without making use of a dark orange lateral filtering pigment distributed heterogeneously in the eye. In the context of nectar foraging, monarchs show strong innate preferences, rapidly learn to associate colors with sugar rewards and learn non-innately preferred colors as quickly and proficiently as they do innately preferred colors. Butterflies also demonstrate asymmetric confusion between specific pairs of colors, which is likely a function of stimulus brightness. Monarchs readily learn to associate a second color with reward, and in general, learning parameters do not vary with temporal sequence of training. In addition, monarchs have true color vision; that is, they can discriminate colors on the basis of wavelength, independent of intensity. Finally, behavioral trials confirm that monarchs do make use of lateral filtering pigments to enhance long-wavelength discrimination. Our results demonstrate that monarchs are proficient and flexible color learners; these capabilities should allow them to respond rapidly to changing nectar availabilities as they travel over migratory routes, across both space and time.