Polarization signals in the marine environment
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Date
2003-12-12
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Citation of Original Publication
Thomas W. Cronin, Nadav Shashar, Roy L. Caldwell, Justin Marshall, Alexander G. Cheroske, and Tsyr-Huei Chiou "Polarization signals in the marine environment", Proc. SPIE 5158, Polarization Science and Remote Sensing, (12 December 2003); doi: 10.1117/12.507903
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© (2003) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.
© (2003) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.
Abstract
Although natural light sources produce depolarized light, partially linearly polarized light is naturally abundant in the
scenes animals view, being produced by scattering in air or water or by reflection from shiny surfaces. Many species of
animals are sensitive to light's polarization, and use this sensitivity to orient themselves using polarization patterns in the
atmosphere or underwater. A few animal species have been shown to take this polarization sensitivity to another level of
sophistication, seeing the world as a polarization image, analogous to the color images humans and other animals view.
This sensory capacity has been incorporated into biological signals by a smaller assortment of species, who use patterns
of polarization on their bodies to communicate with conspecific animals. In other words, they use polarization patterns
for tasks similar to those for which other animals use biologically produced color patterns. Polarization signals are
particularly useful in marine environments, where the spectrum of incident light is variable and unpredictable. Here,
cephalopod mollusks (octopuses, squids, and cuttlefish) and stomatopod crustaceans (mantis shrimps) have developed
striking patterns of polarization used in communication.