Organizational Principles and Plasticity of Eye Stalks in Flies and Other Arthropods

苍蝇和其他节肢动物眼柄的组织原理和可塑性

• 批准号: 9974512
• 负责人: Ronald Hoy
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1999
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1999-09-15 至 2003-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9974512&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Organizational; Principles; Plasticity; Eye; Stalks

Some animals have highly exaggerated features such as plumage or antlers that are believed to have evolved from of sexual selection mechanisms. But some cases have further consequences for sensory processing, such as the extreme lateralization of eyes in hammerhead sharks, some crustaceans, and several insects. One extreme example is found in the diopsid family of flies known as 'stalk-eyed flies' where the eyes may be more than a body-length apart. It remains unknown whether there is unusual neuroanatomy, physiology or behavioral capabilities of the visual system in these animals. This project uses microscopy, electrophysiology and behavioral tests to compare the visual system of some stalk-eyed fly species to those of other insects and other arthropods, to see whether they have specific adaptations for binocular or even stereoscopic vision for distance estimation, and to see whether developing young flies require visual experience to use the eyes for distance perception. Results will have a broad impact because they will be important not only for invertebrate vision, but in comparison with other animal visual systems, and for understanding the development and evolution of visual behavior. The project will provide excellent cross-disciplinary postdoctoral and undergraduate training.

一些动物有着高度夸张的特征，如羽毛或鹿角，这些被认为是从性选择机制进化而来的。 但有些情况对感觉处理有进一步的影响，例如双髻鲨、一些甲壳类动物和几种昆虫的眼睛极度偏侧。 一个极端的例子是在被称为“柄眼苍蝇”的透辉石家族中发现的，其中眼睛可能相距超过一个身体长度。 目前还不清楚这些动物的视觉系统是否有不寻常的神经解剖学、生理学或行为能力。 该项目使用显微镜，电生理学和行为测试来比较一些茎眼果蝇物种的视觉系统与其他昆虫和其他节肢动物的视觉系统，以了解它们是否具有用于距离估计的双眼甚至立体视觉的特定适应，并了解发育中的幼蝇是否需要视觉经验来使用眼睛进行距离感知。 结果将产生广泛的影响，因为它们不仅对无脊椎动物的视觉很重要，而且与其他动物的视觉系统相比，对理解视觉行为的发展和进化也很重要。 该项目将提供优秀的跨学科博士后和本科生培训。