Linked Life Data

10607378

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/10607378

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2000-2-4
pubmed:abstractText
Apart from the sun, the polarization pattern of the sky offers insects a reference for visual compass orientation. Using behavioral experiments, it has been shown in a few insect species (field crickets, honey bees, desert ants, and house flies) that the detection of the oscillation plane of polarized skylight is mediated exclusively by a group of specialized ommatidia situated at the dorsal rim of the compound eye (dorsal rim area). The dorsal rim ommatidia of these species share a number physiological properties that make them especially suitable for polarization vision: each ommatidium contains two sets of homochromatic, strongly polarization-sensitive photoreceptors with orthogonally-arranged analyzer orientations. The physiological specialization of the dorsal rim area goes along with characteristic changes in ommatidial structure, providing actual anatomical hallmarks of polarized skylight detection, that are readily detectable in histological sections of compound eyes. The presence of anatomically specialized dorsal rim ommatidia in many other insect species belonging to a wide range of different orders indicates that polarized skylight detection is a common visual function in insects. However, fine-structural disparities in the design of dorsal rim ommatidia of different insect groups indicate that polarization vision arose polyphyletically in the insects.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
1059-910X
pubmed:author
pubmed:copyrightInfo
Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
47
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
368-79
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Detectors for polarized skylight in insects: a survey of ommatidial specializations in the dorsal rim area of the compound eye.
pubmed:affiliation
Zoologisches Institut der Universität, CH 8057 Zürich, Switzerland. labahrt@zool.unizh.ch
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't