Eye Design and Vision in Deep-Sea Fishes

Warrant, Eric J.; Collin, Shaun P.; Locket, N. A.

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-22628-6_16

Cited by 31 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The rhabdoms of many cephalopods are built from orthogonal stacks of microvilli, and are thereby intrinsically sensitive to polarised Warrant et al, 2003). (A) Rouleina attrita has a retinal design that is common in bathypelagic fishes, with deep convexiclivate temporal foveae containing densely packed ganglion cells.…”

Section: (6 ) Adaptations For Breaking Mesopelagic Camouflagementioning

confidence: 99%

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Vision in the deep sea

2004

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The deep sea is the largest habitat on earth. Its three great faunal environments--the twilight mesopelagic zone, the dark bathypelagic zone and the vast flat expanses of the benthic habitat--are home to a rich fauna of vertebrates and invertebrates. In the mesopelagic zone (150-1000 m), the down-welling daylight creates an extended scene that becomes increasingly dimmer and bluer with depth. The available daylight also originates increasingly from vertically above, and bioluminescent point-source flashes, well contrasted against the dim background daylight, become increasingly visible. In the bathypelagic zone below 1000 m no daylight remains, and the scene becomes entirely dominated by point-like bioluminescence. This changing nature of visual scenes with depth--from extended source to point source--has had a profound effect on the designs of deep-sea eyes, both optically and neurally, a fact that until recently was not fully appreciated. Recent measurements of the sensitivity and spatial resolution of deep-sea eyes--particularly from the camera eyes of fishes and cephalopods and the compound eyes of crustaceans--reveal that ocular designs are well matched to the nature of the visual scene at any given depth. This match between eye design and visual scene is the subject of this review. The greatest variation in eye design is found in the mesopelagic zone, where dim down-welling daylight and bio-luminescent point sources may be visible simultaneously. Some mesopelagic eyes rely on spatial and temporal summation to increase sensitivity to a dim extended scene, while others sacrifice this sensitivity to localise pinpoints of bright bioluminescence. Yet other eyes have retinal regions separately specialised for each type of light. In the bathypelagic zone, eyes generally get smaller and therefore less sensitive to point sources with increasing depth. In fishes, this insensitivity, combined with surprisingly high spatial resolution, is very well adapted to the detection and localisation of point-source bioluminescence at ecologically meaningful distances. At all depths, the eyes of animals active on and over the nutrient-rich sea floor are generally larger than the eyes of pelagic species. In fishes, the retinal ganglion cells are also frequently arranged in a horizontal visual streak, an adaptation for viewing the wide flat horizon of the sea floor, and all animals living there. These and many other aspects of light and vision in the deep sea are reviewed in support of the following conclusion: it is not only the intensity of light at different depths, but also its distribution in space, which has been a major force in the evolution of deep-sea vision.

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Section: (6 ) Adaptations For Breaking Mesopelagic Camouflagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The visual fields of dorsal tubular eyes, retinal diverticuli and lens pads (fromWarrant et al, 2003). (A) A dorsal tubular eye with a laterally placed retinal diverticulum.…”

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Vision in the deep sea

2004

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“…Munk (), Warrant et al. () and Warrant and Locket () have reported that the rod‐dominated retinas of deep‐sea fishes are exquisitely sensitive and their visual pigments have a peak absorption coefficient of at least twice that found in rods from animals in brighter habitats (Partridge, Shand, Archer, Lythgoe, & van Groningen‐Luyben, ; Warrant & Nilsson, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphology of the retina in deep‐water fish Nezumia sclerorhynchus (Valenciennes, 1838) (Gadiformes: Macrouridae)

et al. 2017

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Using light microscopy, we examined the retina of benthopelagic fish Nezumia sclerorhynchus. Although the retina is typical of other vertebrates, having three nuclear and two synaptic layers, it presents some features associated with the animal's deep‐sea habitat. A stratum argenteum containing iridescent crystals is located in the choroid. The pigment cell layer shows bulky cells filled with melanin granules but without the typical apical processes. The visual cells, consisting of a big population of rods, are arranged in several banks. No cones were observed. The outer segments are very long and cylindrical, and the inner segments are constituted by a small ellipsoid at the proximal end. The outer nuclear layer contains several rows of oval nuclei, and the spherules in the outer plexiform layer have less regular outlines than nuclei. The inner retina is characterized by very large horizontal cells, and presumable bipolar and amacrine cells separated by large spaces that are occupied by neuronal processes. Finally, the low density of ganglion cells produces a thin nerve fibre layer. The results of this study suggest that the retina of Nezumia sclerorhyncus exhibits high visual sensitivity and that vision is a sense that plays an important role in its behaviour.

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“…The structure of the retina of Pleuragramma suggests that it is capable of functioning over wide ranges of depth and illumination. The high rod density increases the sensitivity (Warrant et al,2003). Both the relatively large number of total photoreceptors and the small cones, relative to the 2‐fold larger diameter cones in Dissostichus , enhance visual acuity (Nicol,1989; Collin and Shand,2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Divergence of brain and retinal anatomy and histology in pelagic antarctic notothenioid fishes of the sister taxa Dissostichus and Pleuragramma

Eastman

Lannoo

2011

Journal of Morphology

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The neutrally buoyant Antarctic fishes of the sister taxa Dissostichus (D. eleginoides and D. mawsoni) and Pleuragramma antarcticum diverged early in the notothenioid radiation and filled different niches in the pelagic realm of the developing Southern Ocean. To assess the influence of phylogenetic and ecological factors in shaping neural morphology in these taxa, we studied the anatomy and histology of the brains and retinae, and determined the proportional weights of brain regions. With the brain of the non-Antarctic sister taxon Eleginops maclovinus as plesiomorphic, statistically significant departures in the brains of the two Antarctic taxa include reduction of the corpus cerebelli and expansion of the mesencephalon and medulla. Compared to Eleginops, both species also have a relatively smaller telencephalon, although this is significant only in Dissostichus. There are a number of apomorphic features in the brain of Pleuragramma including reduced olfactory nerves and bulbs, an extremely small corpus cerebelli and an expanded mesencephalon. Although there is not a significant difference in the relative weights of the medulla in the two taxa, the prominence of the eminentia granularis and bulging cap-like appearance of the crista cerebellaris are distinctive in Pleuragramma. Brain histology of Dissostichus and Pleuragramma reflects typical perciform patterns and the two species of Dissostichus are histologically identical. Lateral compression in Pleuragramma and notable lobation in Dissostichus also contribute to differences between the taxa. Compression in Pleuragramma is attributable to convergence on an anchovy/herring body shape and to the relatively large brain in this small fish. The less prominent pattern of lobation of the telencephalon, inferior lobes and corpus cerebelli in Pleuragramma probably reflects underlying histology, specifically a reduction in cellularity of the neuropil in the nuclei and lobes. The retinal histology of Dissostichus and Pleuragramma encompasses the extremes seen in Antarctic notothenioids. Dissostichus has a thin scotopic retina with few cones and a high degree of summation. The retina of Pleuragramma is thick and cellular with many small single cones and rods and resembles that of Eleginops. Pedomorphy has not influenced brain morphology in these species but Pleuragramma has superficial neuromasts that are pedomorphic. Although Dissostichus and Pleuragramma are sympatric in the water column, their brains and retinae are highly divergent and reflect the influences of both phylogeny and ecological partitioning of the pelagic realm. Compared to Eleginops, the relatively smaller corpus cerebelli but relatively larger medulla probably indicates, respectively, reduced activity levels of notothenioids in subzero temperatures and expansion of the mechanosensory lateral line system as a supplement to vision under conditions of reduced light. Compared to Dissostichus, Pleuragramma has reduced olfactory bulbs and corpus cerebelli and an expanded mesencephalon. The reduction of the co...

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Eye Design and Vision in Deep-Sea Fishes

Cited by 31 publications

References 31 publications

Vision in the deep sea

Vision in the deep sea

Morphology of the retina in deep‐water fish Nezumia sclerorhynchus (Valenciennes, 1838) (Gadiformes: Macrouridae)

Divergence of brain and retinal anatomy and histology in pelagic antarctic notothenioid fishes of the sister taxa Dissostichus and Pleuragramma

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