A foraging advantage for dichromatic marmosets (
            <i>Callithrix geoffroyi</i>
            ) at low light intensity

Caine, Nel; Osorio, Daniel; Mundy, Nicholas I.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.0591

Cited by 65 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…An alternative explanation is that selection is more complex, and involves frequency-dependent selection in which there are some situations in which dichromats outperform trichromats or other dichromats. For example, dichromats may have a foraging advantage for cryptic food, or dichromats with longer wavelength alleles may have a foraging advantage over other dichromats [24,25,50]. However, it is difficult to envisage a scenario in which frequency-dependent selection alone could lead to the low heterozygosity, and a contribution of inbreeding remains likely.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Highly polymorphic colour vision in a New World monkey with red facial skin, the bald uakari (Cacajao calvus)

et al. 2016

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Colour vision is highly variable in New World monkeys (NWMs). Evidence for the adaptive basis of colour vision in this group has largely centred on environmental features such as foraging benefits for differently coloured foods or predator detection, whereas selection on colour vision for sociosexual communication is an alternative hypothesis that has received little attention. The colour vision of uakaris (Cacajao) is of particular interest because these monkeys have the most dramatic red facial skin of any primate, as well as a unique fission/fusion social system and a specialist diet of seeds. Here, we investigate colour vision in a wild population of the bald uakari, C. calvus, by genotyping the X-linked opsin locus. We document the presence of a polymorphic colour vision system with an unprecedented number of functional alleles (six), including a novel allele with a predicted maximum spectral sensitivity of 555 nm. This supports the presence of strong balancing selection on different alleles at this locus. We consider different hypotheses to explain this selection. One possibility is that trichromacy functions in sexual selection, enabling females to choose high-quality males on the basis of red facial coloration. In support of this, there is some evidence that health affects facial coloration in uakaris, as well as a high prevalence of blood-borne parasitism in wild uakari populations. Alternatively, the low proportion of heterozygous female trichromats in the population may indicate selection on different dichromatic phenotypes, which might be related to cryptic food coloration. We have uncovered unexpected diversity in the last major lineage of NWMs to be assayed for colour vision, which will provide an interesting system to dissect adaptation of polymorphic trichromacy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Highly polymorphic colour vision in a New World monkey with red facial skin, the bald uakari (Cacajao calvus)

et al. 2016

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“…Achromatic contrast thus facilitates fast and accurate identification by dichromats and trichromats alike. Other studies also report an absence of trichromat advantage during insect gleaning (Melin et al, , 2007, particularly for camouflaged insects (Smith et al, 2012) and under low light levels (Caine, Osorio, & Mundy, 2010). Given that any trichromatic advantage is seemingly task-specific, assessing the relative dietary importance of dark fruits, as well as different insect types, and whether these species act as keystone or fallback foods at different times of the year, will improve our understanding of the selective pressures operating on vision polymorphisms in natural populations.…”

Section: Color Vision and Detection Of Cryptic And Dark Fruitsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Food search through the eyes of a monkey: A functional substitution approach for assessing the ecology of primate color vision

et al. 2013

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Efficient detection and selection of reddish fruits against green foliage has long been thought to be a major selective pressure favoring the evolution of primate trichromatic color vision. This has recently been questioned by studies of free-ranging primates that fail to show predicted differences in foraging efficiency between dichromats and trichromats. In the present study, we use a unique approach to evaluate the adaptive significance of trichromacy for fruit detection by undertaking a functional substitution model. The color vision phenotypes of neotropical monkeys are simulated for human observers, who use a touch-sensitive computer interface to search for monkey food items in digital images taken under natural conditions. We find an advantage to trichromatic phenotypes - especially the variant with the most spectrally separated visual pigments - for red, yellow and greenish fruits, but not for dark (purple or black) fruits. These results indicate that trichromat advantage is task-specific, and that shape, size and achromatic contrast variation between ripe and unripe fruits cannot completely mitigate the advantage of color vision. Similarities in fruit foraging performance between primates with different phenotypes in the wild likely reflect the behavioral flexibility of dichromats in overcoming a chromatic disadvantage.

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“…Similar results have been found in other animals. For example, dichromatic marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi) excel in foraging at low light intensity conditions (Caine et al 2009). The nocturnal helmet gecko (Tarentola chazaliae) also has colour vision both in starlight and dim moonlight (Roth and Kelber 2004;Kelber and Roth 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effect of varying light environments on fruit colour selection is therefore poorly understood. Light conditions are known to have a pronounced effect on the foraging behaviour of animals (Willmer and Stone 2004;Kelber et al 2005;Somanathan et al 2008aSomanathan et al , b, 2009aCaine et al 2009). Daytime environments are illuminated by either direct or diffuse sunlight.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

What weta want: colour preferences of a frugivorous insect

Fadzly

Burns

2010

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

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Plants use colours as signals to attract mutualists and repel antagonists. Fleshy-fruits are often conspicuously coloured to signal different types of information including fruit maturity and spatial location. Previous work on fruit colour selection focus on large diurnal vertebrates, yet fruit colours are perceived differently by frugivores with different types of visual systems. Here, we tested whether a nocturnal, frugivorous, seed-dispersing insect selects fruits based on their pigmentation and whether different lighting conditions affect fruit colour selection. We captured 20 Wellington tree weta (Hemideina crassidens) from a forest reserve on the North Island of New Zealand and brought them into laboratory conditions to test their fruit colour preferences. The fruits of Coprosma acerosa, a native shrub species that naturally produces translucent, blue-streaked fruits, were dyed either red or blue. Fruits were then offered to weta in a binary (y-maze) choice test in two light conditions, either at night during a full moon or under artificial light conditions in the lab. Weta preferred unmanipulated, naturally blue-streaked fruits and artificially-blue coloured fruits over those dyed red. Furthermore, their colour preferences were unaffected by light environment. Our results therefore suggest that weta can discriminate between colours (using colour vision) in both light and dark light environments. Their consistent preferences for colours other than red indicate that weta might be responsible for the unusual colours of fleshy-fruits in New Zealand.

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A foraging advantage for dichromatic marmosets ( Callithrix geoffroyi ) at low light intensity

Cited by 65 publications

References 16 publications

Highly polymorphic colour vision in a New World monkey with red facial skin, the bald uakari (Cacajao calvus)

Highly polymorphic colour vision in a New World monkey with red facial skin, the bald uakari (Cacajao calvus)

Food search through the eyes of a monkey: A functional substitution approach for assessing the ecology of primate color vision

What weta want: colour preferences of a frugivorous insect

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