Birds, berries and UV

Burkhardt, Dietrich

doi:10.1007/bf00364887

Cited by 167 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Many fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and some mammals use UV vision for such basic activities as foraging (Burkhardt, 1982;Viitala et al, 1995) and mate choice (Bennett et al, 1996(Bennett et al, , 1997. These species detect light maximally at 360-370 nm by using UV pigments.…”

Section: Ultraviolet (Uv) Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular evolution of color vision in vertebrates

Yokoyama

2002

Gene

261

231

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Visual systems of vertebrates exhibit a striking level of diversity, reflecting their adaptive responses to various color environments. The photosensitive molecules, visual pigments, can be synthesized in vitro and their absorption spectra can be determined. Comparing the amino acid sequences and absorption spectra of various visual pigments, we can identify amino acid changes that have modified the absorption spectra of visual pigments. These hypotheses can then be tested using the in vitro assay. This approach has been a powerful tool in elucidating not only the molecular bases of color vision, but the processes of adaptive evolution at the molecular level. q

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Section: Ultraviolet (Uv) Visionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular evolution of color vision in vertebrates

Yokoyama

2002

Gene

261

231

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“…This hypothesis is highly plausible for three reasons. First, some of the invertebrates, fruits, seeds and £owers on which birds feed re£ect in the UV (Burkhardt 1982;Silberglied 1979;Willson & Whelan 1989). Second, as UV sensitivity appears to be common among birds and is used in mate choice, sexual selection theories involving sensory drive (Endler 1992(Endler , 1993a, sensory exploitation (Ryan 1990) or other aspects of receiver psychology (Guilford & Dawkins 1991) would predict that UV signalling has been`co-opted' from an ancestral function such as foraging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultraviolet cues affect the foraging behaviour of blue tits

Church

Bennett

Cuthill

et al. 1998

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

120

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The function of avian ultraviolet (UV) vision is only just beginning to be understood. One plausible hypothesis is that UV vision enhances the foraging ability of birds. To test this, we carried out behavioural experiments using wild-caught blue tits foraging for cabbage moth and winter moth caterpillars on natural and arti¢cial backgrounds. The light environment in our experiments was manipulated using either UVblocking or UV-transmitting ¢lters. We found that the blue tits tended to ¢nd the ¢rst prey item (out of four) more quickly when UV cues were present. This suggests that UV vision o¡ers bene¢ts to birds when searching for cryptic prey, despite the prey and backgrounds re£ecting relatively little UV. Although there was no direct e¡ect of UVon the time taken to ¢nd all four prey items in a trial, search performance in the absence of UV wavelengths tended to increase over the course of an experiment. This may re£ect changes in the search tactics of the birds. To our knowledge, these are the ¢rst data to suggest that birds use UVcues to detect cryptic insect prey, and have implications for our understanding of protective coloration.

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“…A survey of UV vision in vertebrates started much more recently, but we now know that many fish, amphibian, reptilian, avian, and some mammalian species use UV vision (2). Many birds can identify UV-reflected nectar and berries (3). UV-reflecting plumages in birds and scales in fishes are used for recognition of others (4,5).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular analysis of the evolutionary significance of ultraviolet vision in vertebrates

Shi

Yokoyama

2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

175

215

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Many fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and some mammals use UV vision for such basic activities as foraging, mate selection, and communication. UV vision is mediated by UV pigments in the short wavelength-sensitive type 1 (SWS1) group that absorb light maximally ( max) at Ϸ360 nm. Reconstructed SWS1 pigments of most vertebrate ancestors have max values of Ϸ360 nm, whereas the ancestral avian pigment has a max value of 393 nm. In the nonavian lineage, UV vision in many modern species is inherited directly from the vertebrate ancestor, whereas violet vision in others has evolved by different amino acid replacements at Ϸ10 specific sites. In the avian lineage, the origin of the violet pigment and the subsequent restoration of UV pigments in some species are caused by amino acid replacements F49V͞F86S͞L116V͞S118A and S90C, respectively. The use of UV vision is associated strongly with UV-dependent behaviors of organisms. When UV light is not available or is unimportant to organisms, the SWS1 gene can become nonfunctional, as exemplified by coelacanth and dolphin.

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Birds, berries and UV

Cited by 167 publications

References 15 publications

Molecular evolution of color vision in vertebrates

Molecular evolution of color vision in vertebrates

Ultraviolet cues affect the foraging behaviour of blue tits

Molecular analysis of the evolutionary significance of ultraviolet vision in vertebrates

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