Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: The effects of light level and color vision on the foraging behavior of cathemeral red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer)

博士论文改进：光照水平和色觉对猫科红腹狐猴（Eulemur rubriventer）觅食行为的影响

• 批准号: 1232535
• 负责人: Patricia Wright
• 金额: $ 2.44万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1232535&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Improvement; effects; light

Humans and many other primates have trichromatic color vision, which confers the ability to discriminate between long (e.g., red) and middle (e.g., green) wavelength chromaticities. Among placental mammals, this feature is unique to primates, but the underlying genetic basis for trichromacy varies across lineages. Importantly, the selective pressures favoring the evolution of trichromacy are still being discussed.In humans, Old World monkeys and apes, as well as Neotropical howler monkeys, most individuals in a population have the capacity for trichromatic color vision. In contrast, most Neotropical monkeys and Malagasy lemurs maintain a sex-linked polymorphism, which provides only heterozygous females the potential for trichromacy, while all males and homozygous females are red-green color blind (dichromatic). This situation provides a unique opportunity to investigate the potential advantages and disadvantages to having trichromatic and dichromatic color vision. For example, it has long been hypothesized that trichromats have an advantage over dichromats when foraging on red-colored food. Empirical support for trichromatic foraging advantages, however, particularly in wild populations, is limited. Recent studies suggest that trichromats might experience more pronounced foraging advantages under dim light, such as during dawn and dusk, rather than under bright light levels.Research conducted by doctoral student Rachel Jacobs (Stony Brook University), supervised by Dr. Patricia Wright, tests hypotheses that different types of color vision confer foraging advantages under bright or dim light conditions in a wild population of polymorphic and cathemeral (active throughout a 24-hour day) red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer) in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. These hypotheses are tested using a combination of 1) systematic behavioral data collection, 2) genetic analyses to determine individual color vision status (behavioral observers will be unaware of the status), and 3) color measurements using reflectance spectra of red-bellied lemur food items. This research addresses long-held hypotheses regarding the adaptive significance of trichromatic and polymorphic color vision in primates. On a broader scale, this project provides training for a Malagasy student and local Malagasy villagers, supports multiple national and international collaborations, and is initiating a large-scale research effort on red-bellied lemurs, greatly facilitating future research on this species.

人类和许多其他灵长类动物都有三色视觉，这赋予了区分长波长(例如红色)和中波长(例如绿色)色度的能力。在胎盘哺乳动物中，这一特征是灵长类所独有的，但三色系的潜在遗传基础因血统而异。重要的是，支持三原色进化的选择压力仍在讨论中。在人类、东半球猴子和猿类以及新热带咆哮猴中，一个种群中的大多数个体都有三色视觉的能力。相比之下，大多数新热带猴子和马达加斯加狐猴保持着与性别相关的多态，这仅为杂合雌性提供了三色融合的可能性，而所有雄性和纯合子雌性都是红绿色盲(二色性)。这种情况为研究具有三色和双色视觉的潜在优势和劣势提供了一个独特的机会。例如，长期以来，人们一直假设，在以红色食物为食时，三色虫比二色虫有优势。然而，对三色觅食优势的经验支持是有限的，特别是在野生种群中。最近的研究表明，与在强光下相比，三色狐猴在昏暗的光线下可能会有更明显的觅食优势。由石溪大学博士生雷切尔·雅各布斯在帕特里夏·赖特博士的指导下进行的研究，测试了不同类型的色觉在强光或强光条件下在马达加斯加拉诺马法纳国家公园的野生种群中的觅食优势。这些假设是通过1)系统的行为数据收集，2)遗传分析来确定个人的色觉状态(行为观察者不知道状态)，以及3)使用红腹狐猴食物的反射光谱进行颜色测量的组合来检验的。这项研究解决了长期以来关于灵长类动物三原色和多态颜色视觉的适应性意义的假设。在更广泛的范围内，该项目为马达加斯加的一名学生和当地的马达加斯加村民提供培训，支持多个国家和国际合作，并正在启动一项关于红腹狐猴的大规模研究工作，极大地促进了对该物种的未来研究。