The eyes of deep-sea fish II. Functional morphology of the retina

Wagner, Hans‐Joachim; Frőhlich, Eleonore; Negishi, K.; Collin, Shaun P.

doi:10.1016/s1350-9462(98)00003-2

Cited by 142 publications

(204 citation statements)

References 105 publications

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“…Bozzano et al Eye and retina in lantern fish larvae olatus were reported to have short cone-like photoreceptors in the centre of an otherwise rod-dominant retina~Omura et al, Wagner et al, 1998!. In the present study, similar retinal morphology was observed in the pre-flexion lanternfish larvae investigated.…”

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confidence: 79%

Early development of eye and retina in lanternfish larvae

2007

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The morphological characteristics of the eyes and the retinae of lanternfish larvae of Lampanyctus crocodilus, Benthosema glaciale, and Myctophum punctatum were analyzed in pre-flexion, flexion, and post-flexion stages. Pre-flexion larvae of L. crocodilus, the species with the shallowest depth distribution, had spherical eyes located antero-laterally on a strongly laterally-compressed head, suggesting a forward binocular visual field. B. glaciale and M. punctatum larvae live deeper in the water column and had eyes elongated in the dorsal-ventral plane. The eyes of B. glaciale were prominent, projecting slightly outward from a laterally-compressed head, suggesting a strongly laterally-directed visual field. M. punctaum had stalked elongated eyes projecting from a dorso-ventrally flattened head. The eyes can be freely rotated allowing lateral, anterior and dorsally-directed vision. A prominent choroidal gland was situated beneath the ventral portion of the eye in M. punctatum and B. glaciale, while a smaller gland was present in the dorsal and ventral portions of the eye of L. crocodilus. In pre-flexion stage larvae, the retina of all three species was differentiated with numerous rod photoreceptors in the peripheral retinal areas and fewer cone photoreceptors mainly distributed in the central retina. This distribution suggests concomitant enhancement of scotopic sensitivity in the vertical visual plane and improved photopic acuity in the lateral and forward visual directions. The concurrent development of cones and rods, as observed in the pre-flexion stage of myctophid larvae, is consistent with meeting the special demands of visual planktivory in sub-surface waters. During larval development a gradual increase of ROS length was also accompanied by a progressive loss of cones that were almost totally absent in post-flexion larvae. This can be interpreted as an adaptive response to an impending deep mesopelagic adult life.

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confidence: 79%

Early development of eye and retina in lanternfish larvae

2007

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“…All cells in the ganglion cell layer were counted except for a population of small, darkly stained, rounded cells. These cells were easily separated from the ganglion cells (figure 4) and were presumed to be 'displaced' amacrine cells ( [14]; S. P. Collin 2004, personal communication). Initial counts were made that rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org Phil.…”

Section: (I) Methods For Determining the Flicker Fusion Frequencymentioning

confidence: 99%

The visual ecology of a deep-sea fish, the escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum (Smith, 1843)

Landgren

Fritsches

Brill

et al. 2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Escolar (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum, family Gempylidae) are large and darkly coloured deep-sea predatory fish found in the cold depths (more than 200 m) during the day and in warm surface waters at night. They have large eyes and an overall low density of retinal ganglion cells that endow them with a very high optical sensitivity. Escolar have banked retinae comprising six to eight layers of rods to increase the optical path length for maximal absorption of the incoming light. Their retinae possess two main areae of higher ganglion cell density, one in the ventral retina viewing the dorsal world above (with a moderate acuity of 4.6 cycles deg 21 ), and the second in the temporal retina viewing the frontal world ahead. Electrophysiological recordings of the flicker fusion frequency (FFF) in isolated retinas indicate that escolar have slow vision, with maximal FFF at the highest light levels and temperatures (around 9 Hz at 238C) which fall to 1-2 Hz in dim light or cooler temperatures. Our results suggest that escolar are slowly moving sit-and-wait predators. In dim, warm surface waters at night, their slow vision, moderate dorsal resolution and highly sensitive eyes may allow them to surprise prey from below that are silhouetted in the downwelling light.

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“…This implies that the ganglion cells of bathypelagic ¢shes are tightly organized into well-developed foveae and areae centrales, with each ganglion cell receiving input from a small pool of photoreceptors. The sharp frontally directed fovea of Rouleina attrita (¢gure 1b)öa ¢sh living between 1.4 and 2.1km below the sea surfaceöis an excellent example (Wagner et al 1998).…”

Section: Visual Scenes and Eye Design In The Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

The eyes of deep–sea fishes and the changing nature of visual scenes with depth

Warrant

2000

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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The visual scenes viewed by ocean animals change dramatically with depth. In the brighter epipelagic depths, daylight provides an extended ¢eld of illumination. In mesopelagic depths down to 1000 m the visual scene is semi-extended, with the downwelling daylight providing increasingly dim extended illumination with depth. In contrast, greater depths increase the prominence of point-source bioluminescent £ashes. In bathypelagic depths (below 1000 m) daylight no longer penetrates, and the visual scene consists exclusively of point-source bioluminescent £ashes. In this paper, I show that the eyes of ¢shes match this change from extended to point-source illumination, becoming increasingly foveate and spatially acute with increasing depth. A sharp fovea is optimal for localizing point sources. Quite contrary to their reputation as`degenerate' and`regressed', I show here that the remarkably prominent foveae and relatively large pupils of bathypelagic ¢shes give them excellent perception and localization of bioluminescent £ashes up to a few tens of metres distant. In a world with almost no food, where ¢shes are weak and must swim very slowly, this range of detection (and interception) is energetically realistic, with distances greater than this physically beyond range. Larger and more sensitive eyes would give bathypelagic ¢shes little more than the useless ability to see £ashes beyond reach.

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The eyes of deep-sea fish II. Functional morphology of the retina

Cited by 142 publications

References 105 publications

Early development of eye and retina in lanternfish larvae

Early development of eye and retina in lanternfish larvae

The visual ecology of a deep-sea fish, the escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum (Smith, 1843)

The eyes of deep–sea fishes and the changing nature of visual scenes with depth

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