Vision in Aquatic Environment

A special issue of Vision (ISSN 2411-5150).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 14485

Special Issue Editors

Department of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Interests: chromatic and achromatic vision birds and fish; insect colour vision in relation to flower colours; ecological relevance of primate colour vision; neural noise and encoding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Interests: sensory ecology; animal behaviour (particularly cognition, problem solving, and trait-mediated interactions); behavioural ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite original and review papers on a wide range of topics related to vision in aquatic environments. We expect to receive papers related to the following topics:

  1. Interface between air and water;
  2. Color vision in aquatic habitats;
  3. Polarization vision in aquatic habitats;
  4. Vertical migration;
  5. Vision in deep sea.

Dr. Misha Vorobyev
Dr. Luis Nahmad-Rohen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vision is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3003 KiB  
Article
Vision in the Vertical Axis: How Important Are Visual Cues in Foraging and Navigation?
by Jessica L. Campbell and Theresa Burt de Perera
Vision 2023, 7(2), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/vision7020044 - 06 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1041
Abstract
In both terrestrial and aquatic environments, a large number of animal behaviors rely on visual cues, with vision acting as the dominant sense for many fish. However, many other streams of information are available, and multiple cues may be incorporated simultaneously. Being free [...] Read more.
In both terrestrial and aquatic environments, a large number of animal behaviors rely on visual cues, with vision acting as the dominant sense for many fish. However, many other streams of information are available, and multiple cues may be incorporated simultaneously. Being free from the constraints of many of their terrestrial counterparts, fish have an expanded range of possible movements typified by a volume rather than an area. Cues such as hydrostatic pressure, which relates to navigation in a vertical plane, may provide more salient and reliable information to fish as they are not affected by poor light conditions or turbidity. Here, we tested banded tetra fish (Astyanax fasciatus) in a simple foraging task in order to determine whether visual cues would be prioritized over other salient information, most notably hydrostatic pressure gradients. We found that in both vertical and horizontal arrays there was no evidence for fish favoring one set of cues over the other, with subjects making choices at random once cues were placed into conflict. Visual cues remained as important in the vertical axis as they were in the horizontal axis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vision in Aquatic Environment)
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15 pages, 6065 KiB  
Article
Confocal and Electron Microscopic Structure of the Cornea from Three Species of Penguin
by Peter W. Hadden, Akilesh Gokul, Satya Amirapu, Ratish Kurian, Charles N. J. McGhee and Jie Zhang
Vision 2023, 7(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/vision7010004 - 03 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1460
Abstract
Corneal confocal microscopy has not previously been performed in penguins, despite recognition of its unusually flat shape. To identify features that the penguin shares with other birds and or mammals and those specific to penguins, we undertook confocal microscopic examination of two little [...] Read more.
Corneal confocal microscopy has not previously been performed in penguins, despite recognition of its unusually flat shape. To identify features that the penguin shares with other birds and or mammals and those specific to penguins, we undertook confocal microscopic examination of two little (Eudyptula minor), four gentoo (Pygoscelis papua) and five king (Aptenodytes patagonicus) penguin corneas. Transmission electron microscopy was performed on one gentoo and one king penguin, for finer details. Features shared with other higher vertebrates included a five-layered cornea and a similar limbus. Typically avian were a lower density of stromal cells, a more regular arrangement of collagen bands and an absent basal nerve plexus. Features unique to penguins included a flattened superficial epithelium (king penguin), stromal myofibroblasts (all) and an irregular endothelium (little penguin). Other features uniquely identified by confocal microscopy in birds include epithelial and stromal nerves, guttata and stromal imprints on Descemet’s membrane. Transmission electron microscopy identified a lack of wing cells (king penguin), greater posterior collagen lamellae thickness (gentoo penguin) and significantly less interlacing of collagen lamellae in the central cornea (king and gentoo). Most of these unique features are yet to be explained, but some could be adaptations to diving. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vision in Aquatic Environment)
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26 pages, 21964 KiB  
Article
The Colours of Octopus: Using Spectral Data to Measure Octopus Camouflage
by Luis Nahmad-Rohen, Yusuf H. Qureshi and Misha Vorobyev
Vision 2022, 6(4), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/vision6040059 - 22 Sep 2022
Viewed by 3451
Abstract
No animal can so effectively camouflage in such a wide range of environments as the octopus. Thanks to their highly malleable skin, they are capable of adapting their body patterns to the brightness and texture of their immediate environment, and they often seemingly [...] Read more.
No animal can so effectively camouflage in such a wide range of environments as the octopus. Thanks to their highly malleable skin, they are capable of adapting their body patterns to the brightness and texture of their immediate environment, and they often seemingly match the colour of background objects. However, octopuses are colour-blind as their eyes have only one type of visual pigment. Therefore, chromatophores in their skin are likely to respond to changes in brightness, not chromaticity. To determine whether octopuses actually match background colours, we used a SpectraScan® PR-655 spectroradiometer to measure the reflectance spectra of Octopus tetricus skin in captivity. The spectra were compared with those of green algae, brown algae, and sponges—all of these being colourful objects commonly found in the octopus’s natural environment. Even though we show that octopuses change both lightness and chromaticity, allowing them to potentially camouflage in a wide range of backgrounds in an effective manner, the overall octopus colours did not reach the same level of saturation compared to some background objects. Spectra were then modelled under the visual systems of four potential octopus predators: one dichromatic fish (Heller’s barracuda), two trichromatic fish (blue-spotted stingray and two-spotted red snapper), and one tetrachromatic bird (wedge-tailed shearwater). We show that octopuses are able to match certain background colours for some visual systems. How a colour-blind animal is capable of colour-matching is still unknown. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vision in Aquatic Environment)
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18 pages, 2060 KiB  
Article
Visual Background Choice and Light Environment Affect Male Guppy Visual Contrast
by John A. Endler, Dara-Marie Raggay, Solomon Maerowitz-McMahan, David N. Reznick and Rebecca C. Fuller
Vision 2022, 6(3), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/vision6030056 - 07 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2209
Abstract
Male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) have multiple colored spots and perform courtship displays near the edges of streams in Trinidad in shallow water flowing through rainforest. Depending upon the orientation of the pair, the female sees the male displays against gravel or [...] Read more.
Male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) have multiple colored spots and perform courtship displays near the edges of streams in Trinidad in shallow water flowing through rainforest. Depending upon the orientation of the pair, the female sees the male displays against gravel or other stream bed substrates or against the spacelight—the roughly uniform light coming from the water column away from the bank. We observed courting pairs in two adjacent natural streams and noted the directions of each male display. We found that the female sees the male more often against spacelight than against gravel when females either faced the spacelight from the opposite bank or from downstream, or both. Visual modelling using natural substrate reflectances and field light measurements showed higher chromatic contrast of males against spacelight than against substrates independent of the two ambient light environments used during displays, but achromatic contrast depended upon the ambient light habitat. This suggests that courtship involves both chromatic and achromatic contrast. We conclude that the orientation of courting pairs and the ambient light spectrum should be accounted for in studies of mate choice, because the visual background and light affect visibility, and these differ with orientation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vision in Aquatic Environment)
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Review

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23 pages, 4233 KiB  
Review
An Overview of the Penguin Visual System
by Peter W. Hadden and Jie Zhang
Vision 2023, 7(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/vision7010006 - 17 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5291
Abstract
Penguins require vision that is adequate for both subaerial and submarine environments under a wide range of illumination. Here we provide a structured overview of what is known about their visual system with an emphasis on how and how well they achieve these [...] Read more.
Penguins require vision that is adequate for both subaerial and submarine environments under a wide range of illumination. Here we provide a structured overview of what is known about their visual system with an emphasis on how and how well they achieve these goals. Amphibious vision is facilitated by a relatively flat cornea, the power in air varying from 10.2 dioptres (D) to 41.3 D depending on the species, and there is good evidence for emmetropia both above and below water. All penguins are trichromats with loss of rhodopsin 2, a nocturnal feature, but only deeper diving penguins have been noted to have pale oil droplets and a preponderance of rods. Conversely, the diurnal, shallow-diving little penguin has a higher ganglion cell density (28,867 cells/mm2) and f-number (3.5) than those that operate in dimmer light. In most species studied, there is some binocular overlap, but this reduces upon submergence. However, gaps in our knowledge remain, particularly with regard to the mechanism of accommodation, spectral transmission, behavioural measurements of visual function in low light, and neural adaptations to low light. The rarer species also deserve more attention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vision in Aquatic Environment)
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