Exploring the Potential Implications of Variation in Optical Density for the Coevolution of Avian Visual Systems and Color Signals

Color vision enables visually oriented animals to sense their environments and successfully perform most of their vital activities. Several studies have demonstrated that natural and sexual selection may shape the evolution of vision, but it has seldom been considered that because selection may act differently on males and females, certain characteristics of visual systems may differ between the sexes. Few examples of sexual dimorphism in vision have been described in vertebrates, and whether males and females differentially perceive the world based on vision remains widely unanswered probably because of the difficulties involved in studying visual systems in depth. Here, I assessed the effects of optical density, an unexplored possible axis of variation of avian vision, on color perception and asked whether optical density may mediate differences between males and females in color vision. Using mathematical modeling I found that variation in optical density can alter the sensitivity spectra of retinal cones in birds. Furthermore, changes in optical density modeled under physiologically realistic scenarios informed by data from New World warblers (Parulidae) may result in subtle differences in the color discrimination abilities of males and females. Moreover, comparisons among species indicate that sexual dichromatism in plumage coloration is associated with sexual differences in color discrimination abilities. My work, along with physiological and behavioral evidence from diverse animal species, suggests that broader evidence for the exciting idea that color signals and visual systems coevolve can be found if we fully characterize visual systems and evaluate differences using visual models.

• Autores: Meneses Giorgi, María Alejandra
• Fecha de publicación: 2022
• Institución: Universidad de los Andes
• Repositorio: Séneca: repositorio Uniandes
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.uniandes.edu.co:1992/55838
• Acceso en línea: http://hdl.handle.net/1992/55838
• Palabra clave: Visión aviar; Percepción del color; Discriminación del color; Parulidae; Diferencias sexuales; Biología
• Rights: openAccess
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/