Behavioral spectral sensitivities of different retinal areas in pigeons.

Remy, Monika; Emmerton, Jacky

doi:10.1037/0735-7044.103.1.170

Cited by 83 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Also, Kreithen and Eisner (1978) report on a considerably higher sensitivity of pigeons in the UV than at longer wavelengths. In pigeons, this phenomenon is due to a very high UV sensitivity in the lateral retinal field (Remy and Emmerton 1989). If the high UV sensitivity of L. lutea, as found in my study, is not caused by adaptation effects, then the question about its biological significance arises.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Spectral sensitivities including the ultraviolet of the passeriform bird Leiothrix lutea

Maier

1992

J Comp Physiol A

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Summary.Spectral sensitivity functions of a passeriform bird, the Red-billed Leiothrix Leiothrix lutea (Timalidae) were determined in a behavioural test under different background illuminations.1. With photopic illumination the spectral sensitivity of Leiothrix lutea covered the measured range from 320 nm to 680 nm. Four peaks of spectral sensitivity were found: a UV (370 nm), a blue (460 nm), a green (530 nm) and a red (620 nm) sensitivity peak. The spectral sensitivity was highest in the UV and decreased (over the blue and the green peak) towards the red sensitivity peak. The 4 peaks of spectral sensitivity point to 4 underlying cone mechanisms under photopic illumination and thus to a probably tetrachromatic colour vision of Leiothrix lutea.2. With mesopic illumination the bird's spectral sensitivity covered the measured range from 320 nm to 680 nm. Neural interactions between cone and rod sensitivities are likely to determine this function. The increased overall sensitivity and a dominant sensitivity peak at 500 nm point to a typical rhodopsin as the likely rod photopigment.3. Different aspects of the biological significance of the high UV sensitivity are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Spectral sensitivities including the ultraviolet of the passeriform bird Leiothrix lutea

Maier

1992

J Comp Physiol A

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“…These pigments and oil-droplets give birds richer color vision than could ever be experienced by humans with their three cone photopigments and no oil-droplets. Birds are even capable of utilizing the ultra-violet portion of light, as demonstrated in behavioral studies using pigeons (Emmerton, 1983;Remy and Emmerton, 1989;Wright, 1972) and passerines (Bennett and Cuthill, 1994;Bennett et al, 1997;Smith, Greenwood, and Bennett, 2002).…”

Section: Chapter 1: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial contrast sensitivity of birds

2006

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Contrast sensitivity (CS) is the ability of the observer to discriminate between adjacent stimuli on the basis of their differences in relative luminosity (contrast) rather than their absolute luminances. Prior to this study, birds had been thought to have low contrast detection thresholds relative to mammals and fishes. This was a surprising phenomenon because birds had been traditionally attributed with superior vision. In addition, the low CS of birds could not be explained by retinal or optical factors, or secondary stimulus characteristics. Unfortunately, avian contrast sensitivity functions (CSFs) were sparse in the literature, so it was unknown whether low contrast sensitivity was a general phenomenon in birds. This study measured CS in six species of birds The quail and pigeon data obtained in this experiment fit well with existing CS data for these species. The kestrel data were not similar to kestrel data in the literature; however the data in the literature were collected from a single subject. All of the birds studied had contrast sensitivities that were consistent with their retinal or optical morphologies relative to other birds (in species for which such data exists) and seem well suited for their natural environments. In addition, all of these birds exhibited low CS relative to humans and most mammals, which suggests that low CS is a general phenomenon of birds.Explanations for this avian low CS phenomenon include a possible trade-off between contrast mechanisms and UV mechanisms in cone systems, and lateral inhibitory mechanisms that are perhaps categorically different from mammals. Lateral inhibition affects contrast gain, and has been shown to differ according to ganglion cell types, which in turn will differ in vertebrate species.

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“…Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) have excellent color discrimination [Goldsmith and Butler, 2005] and a wide range of species are capable of detecting UV wavelengths [Odeen and Hastad, 2003]. Even the commonly used pigeon (Columba livia) exhibits an extensive array of visual abilities including the detection of static and dynamic stimuli in noise [Kelly et al, 2001], biological motion [Watanabe and Troje, 2006] and other forms of complex motion [Frost et al, 1994;Sun and Frost, 1998] as well as color discrimination and UV sensitivity [Remy and Emmerton, 1989;Palacios and Varela, 1992] and stereopsis [McFadden and Wild, 1986].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allometric Scaling of the Tectofugal Pathway in Birds

et al. 2010

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Recent studies have shown that the relative sizes of visual regions in the avian brain are correlated with behavioral differences among species. Despite the fact that the tectofugal pathway is the primary source of visual input to the avian brain, detailed interspecific comparisons of the relative size of nuclei within the pathway, the optic tectum, nucleus rotundus and entopallium, are wanting. Here, we examine the allometric scaling relationships of each of these brain regions relative to the brain as a whole using conventional and phylogenetically based statistics across 113 species. Our results show that the relative size of tectofugal regions of the avian brain varies significantly among avian orders. More specifically, waterfowl (Anseriformes), parrots (Psittaciformes) and owls (Strigiformes) have significantly smaller tectofugal brain regions than other birds. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we found little evidence for the significant enlargement of any tectofugal region among the orders that we sampled. The lack of such hypertrophy likely reflects the heterogeneous organization of the optic tectum, nucleus rotundus and entopallium. We therefore speculate that if neural adaptations do exist in the avian tectofugal pathway that are correlated with behavior, they occur at a more refined level than simple volumetrics.

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Behavioral spectral sensitivities of different retinal areas in pigeons.

Cited by 83 publications

References 20 publications

Spectral sensitivities including the ultraviolet of the passeriform bird Leiothrix lutea

Spectral sensitivities including the ultraviolet of the passeriform bird Leiothrix lutea

Spatial contrast sensitivity of birds

Allometric Scaling of the Tectofugal Pathway in Birds

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