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    Polarization Vision and Its Role in Biological Signaling

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    https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/43/4/549/617769
    Permanent Link
    https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/43.4.549
    http://hdl.handle.net/11603/13551
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    • UMBC Biological Sciences Department
    • UMBC Faculty Collection
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    Author/Creator
    Cronin, Thomas W.
    Shashar, Nadav
    Caldwell, Roy L.
    Marshall, Justin
    Cheroske, Alexander G.
    Chiou, Tsyr-Huei
    Date
    2003-08-01
    Type of Work
    10 pages
    Text
    journal articles
    Citation of Original Publication
    Thomas W. Cronin, et.al, Polarization Vision and Its Role in Biological Signaling, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 43, Issue 4, August 2003, Pages 549–558, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/43.4.549
    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.
    Subjects
    polarization vision
    polarization sensitivity
    marine species
    shallow-water environments
    Abstract
    Visual pigments, the molecules in photoreceptors that initiate the process of vision, are inherently dichroic, differentially absorbing light according to its axis of polarization. Many animals have taken advantage of this property to build receptor systems capable of analyzing the polarization of incoming light, as polarized light is abundant in natural scenes (commonly being produced by scattering or reflection). Such polarization sensitivity has long been associated with behavioral tasks like orientation or navigation. However, only recently have we become aware that it can be incorporated into a high-level visual perception akin to color vision, permitting segmentation of a viewed scene into regions that differ in their polarization. By analogy to color vision, we call this capacity polarization vision. It is apparently used for tasks like those that color vision specializes in: contrast enhancement, camouflage breaking, object recognition, and signal detection and discrimination. While color is very useful in terrestrial or shallow-water environments, it is an unreliable cue deeper in water due to the spectral modification of light as it travels through water of various depths or of varying optical quality. Here, polarization vision has special utility and consequently has evolved in numerous marine species, as well as at least one terrestrial animal. In this review, we consider recent findings concerning polarization vision and its significance in biological signaling.


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    Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery
    University of Maryland, Baltimore County
    1000 Hilltop Circle
    Baltimore, MD 21250
    www.umbc.edu/scholarworks

    Contact information:
    Email: scholarworks-group@umbc.edu
    Phone: 410-455-3021


    If you wish to submit a copyright complaint or withdrawal request, please email mdsoar-help@umd.edu.