Hiding opaque eyes in transparent organisms: a potential role for larval eyeshine in stomatopod crustaceans

Thumbnail Image

Files

3263.full.pdf (1.89 MB)

Links to Files

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/217/18/3263

Permanent Link

https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.108076
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/13392

Collections

UMBC Biological Sciences Department
UMBC Faculty Collection

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2014-06-23

Type of Work

journal articles
Text

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

K. D. Feller and T. W. Cronin, Hiding opaque eyes in transparent organisms: a potential role for larval eyeshine in stomatopod crustaceans, The Journal of Experimental Biology (2014) 217, 3263-3273, DOI:10.1242/jeb.108076

Rights

This item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
non-commercial use only

Subjects

camouflage
larva
stomatopod
visual ecology

Abstract

Opaque screening pigments are a fundamental requisite for preserving resolution in image-forming eyes. Possession of any type of image-forming eye in a transparent, pelagic animal will thus undermine the ability of that animal to be invisible in the water column. Transparent, pelagic animals must therefore deal with the trade-off between the ability to see and the ability of other animals to see them. Stomatopod larvae, like many transparent crustaceans, possess specialized optics in their compound eyes that minimize the volume of the opaque retina. Though the volumes of these retinas are reduced, their opacity remains conspicuous to an observer. The light reflected from structures overlying the retinas of stomatopod crustacean larval eyes, referred to here as eyeshine, is hypothesized to further reduce the visibility of opaque retinas. Blue or green wavelengths of light are most strongly reflected in stomatopod larval eyeshine, suggesting a putative spectral matching to the light environment against which the larval eyes are viewed. We tested the efficacy of stomatopod crustacean larval eyeshine as an ocular camouflaging mechanism by photographing larvae in their natural light environment and analysing the contrast of eyes with the background light. To test for spectral matching between stomatopod larval eyeshine and the background light environment, we characterized the spectrum of eyeshine and calculated its performance using radiometric measurements collected at the time of each photographic series. These results are the first to demonstrate an operative mirror camouflage matched in both spectrum and radiance to the pelagic background light environment.