Rapid mapping of compound eye visual sampling parameters with FACETS, a highly automated wide-field goniometer

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• 作者：John K. Douglass ; Martin F. Wehling
• 关键词：Acute zones ; Bright zones ; Insect vision ; Visual field specializations ; Spatial sampling arrays
• 刊名：Journal of Comparative Physiology A
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：December 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：202
• 期：12
• 页码：839-851
• 全文大小：3,711 KB
• 刊物主题：Animal Physiology; Neurosciences; Zoology;
• 出版者：Springer Berlin Heidelberg
• ISSN：1432-1351
• 卷排序：202

文摘

A highly automated goniometer instrument (called FACETS) has been developed to facilitate rapid mapping of compound eye parameters for investigating regional visual field specializations. The instrument demonstrates the feasibility of analyzing the complete field of view of an insect eye in a fraction of the time required if using non-motorized, non-computerized methods. Faster eye mapping makes it practical for the first time to employ sample sizes appropriate for testing hypotheses about the visual significance of interspecific differences in regional specializations. Example maps of facet sizes are presented from four dipteran insects representing the Asilidae, Calliphoridae, and Stratiomyidae. These maps provide the first quantitative documentation of the frontal enlarged-facet zones (EFZs) that typify asilid eyes, which, together with the EFZs in male Calliphoridae, are likely to be correlated with high-spatial-resolution acute zones. The presence of EFZs contrasts sharply with the almost homogeneous distribution of facet sizes in the stratiomyid. Moreover, the shapes of EFZs differ among species, suggesting functional specializations that may reflect differences in visual ecology. Surveys of this nature can help identify species that should be targeted for additional studies, which will elucidate fundamental principles and constraints that govern visual field specializations and their evolution.