A biorobotic approach to modelling celestial cue integration in ball-rolling dung beetles

该项目旨在探索生物学上合理的计算模型，这些模型可能解释蜣螂可以参考多种天空线索作为指南针参考来保持直线方向的机制。最初的方法集中在制作一个精确的计算机模拟蜣螂背眼视图，当呈现不同模式的光时，假设甲虫眼睛的结构和直接的光通路控制着物种之间观察到的线索整合和线索偏好差异。该预处理将用于生成一个可信的编码，该编码可以用作中央复合体模型的输入；这是一种中枢复杂神经结构的模型，被认为是甲虫大脑的定向中心。虽然计算模型是目标，但我的目标是在机器人平台上实现任何结果模型，以提供真实天窗条件下的性能数据。这个问题来自伦德大学对南非滚球蜣螂进行的行为生物学研究；具体来说，它们在把粪便从粪堆上滚开时的取向行为。滚球蜣螂使用粪便有几个目的，特别是作为食物来源。因此，对这一宝贵资源存在着激烈的竞争。一旦蜣螂形成了粪球，它就会选择一个方向，并将粪球直线滚动，以快速最大化其与粪堆的距离。屎壳郎（和人类一样）需要一些外部参考来维持它们的方位。越来越多的证据表明，这里使用的参考是天空。2003年，Byrne等人首次发现蜣螂利用太阳作为方向提示，但后来发现它们利用各种天体提示来保持直线方向，包括：月亮/太阳的位置，天体光谱，月亮/阳光通过大气过滤引起的光偏振模式，甚至是天空中的银河系（从它们的自然栖息地可见）。目前，我们知道可用的线索以某种方式组合在一起，不同物种之间对不同的线索有一些固有的偏好；然而，没有生物学上合理的计算模型可以充分描述所有观察到的行为；本项目旨在开发和探索这些模式。

This project aims to explore biologically plausible computational models whichmay explain the mechanisms by which dung beetles can maintain a straight bearingwith reference to multiple sky cues as a compass reference. The initial approachis centred on producing an accurate computer simulation of the dung beetle dorsaleye view when presented with different patterns of light with the hypothesis thatthe structure of the beetle eye and immediate optical pathway governs the cueintegration and cue preference differences observed between species. Thispreprocessing will be used to generate a plausible encoding which can be used asinput to the Central Complex model; a model of the Central Complex neuralstructure, thought to be the orientation centre of the beetle brain. While acomputational model is the goal, I aim to implement any resultant model on arobot platform to provide performance data under real skylight conditions.The question arises from studies in behavioural biology conducted at LundUniversity regarding South African ball-rolling dung beetles; specifically, theirorientation behaviour when rolling dung away from the dung pile. Ball-rollingdung beetles use dung for a few purposes, notably as a food source.There is therefore serious competition over the valuable resource. Once a beetlehas formed its ball of dung it picks a direction and rolls the ball away in astraight line to quickly maximise its distance from the dung pile.Dung beetles (like humans) need some external reference to maintain theirbearing. Mounting evidence shows that the reference in use is the sky. Dungbeetles were first shown to use the sun as a directional prompt by Byrne et al.in 2003 but have since been shown to use a variety of celestial cues to maintaintheir straight-line orientation, including: the position of the Moon/Sun, acelestial colour spectrum, the pattern of light polarisation caused by Moon/Sunlight filtering through the atmosphere, and even the the Milky Way galaxy in thesky (visible from their natural habitat). Currently, we understand that theavailable cues are combined in some way and that there is some inherentpreference for different cues between different species; however, there is nobiologically plausible computational model which adequately describes all of theobserved behaviours; this project aims to develop and explore such models.