Daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish

Abstract Ocular reflectors enhance eye sensitivity in dim light, but can produce reflected eyeshine when illuminated. Some fish can occlude their reflectors during the day. The opposite is observed in cryptic sit-and-wait predators such as scorpionfish and toadfish, where reflectors are occluded at...

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Autores principales:	Matteo Santon, Pierre-Paul Bitton, Ulrike K. Harant, Nico K. Michiels
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2018
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f7070a0f5f8445319f099c2ca578ed39
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f7070a0f5f8445319f099c2ca578ed392021-12-02T12:31:56ZDaytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish10.1038/s41598-018-25599-y2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f7070a0f5f8445319f099c2ca578ed392018-05-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25599-yhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Ocular reflectors enhance eye sensitivity in dim light, but can produce reflected eyeshine when illuminated. Some fish can occlude their reflectors during the day. The opposite is observed in cryptic sit-and-wait predators such as scorpionfish and toadfish, where reflectors are occluded at night and exposed during the day. This results in daytime eyeshine, proposed to enhance pupil camouflage by reducing the contrast between the otherwise dark pupil and the surrounding tissue. In this study, we test this hypothesis in the scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus and show that eyeshine is the result of two mechanisms: the previously described Stratum Argenteum Reflected (SAR) eyeshine, and Pigment Epithelium Transmitted (PET) eyeshine, a newly described mechanism for this species. We confirm that the ocular reflector is exposed only when the eye is light-adapted, and present field measurements to show that eyeshine reduces pupil contrast against the iris. We then estimate the relative contribution of SAR and PET eyeshine to pupil brightness. Visual models for different light scenarios in the field show that daytime eyeshine enhances pupil camouflage from the perspective of a prey fish. We propose that the reversed occlusion mechanism of some cryptobenthic predators has evolved as a compromise between camouflage and vision.Matteo SantonPierre-Paul BittonUlrike K. HarantNico K. MichielsNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 8, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2018)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Matteo Santon Pierre-Paul Bitton Ulrike K. Harant Nico K. Michiels Daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish
description	Abstract Ocular reflectors enhance eye sensitivity in dim light, but can produce reflected eyeshine when illuminated. Some fish can occlude their reflectors during the day. The opposite is observed in cryptic sit-and-wait predators such as scorpionfish and toadfish, where reflectors are occluded at night and exposed during the day. This results in daytime eyeshine, proposed to enhance pupil camouflage by reducing the contrast between the otherwise dark pupil and the surrounding tissue. In this study, we test this hypothesis in the scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus and show that eyeshine is the result of two mechanisms: the previously described Stratum Argenteum Reflected (SAR) eyeshine, and Pigment Epithelium Transmitted (PET) eyeshine, a newly described mechanism for this species. We confirm that the ocular reflector is exposed only when the eye is light-adapted, and present field measurements to show that eyeshine reduces pupil contrast against the iris. We then estimate the relative contribution of SAR and PET eyeshine to pupil brightness. Visual models for different light scenarios in the field show that daytime eyeshine enhances pupil camouflage from the perspective of a prey fish. We propose that the reversed occlusion mechanism of some cryptobenthic predators has evolved as a compromise between camouflage and vision.
format	article
author	Matteo Santon Pierre-Paul Bitton Ulrike K. Harant Nico K. Michiels
author_facet	Matteo Santon Pierre-Paul Bitton Ulrike K. Harant Nico K. Michiels
author_sort	Matteo Santon
title	Daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish
title_short	Daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish
title_full	Daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish
title_fullStr	Daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish
title_full_unstemmed	Daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish
title_sort	daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2018
url	https://doaj.org/article/f7070a0f5f8445319f099c2ca578ed39
work_keys_str_mv	AT matteosanton daytimeeyeshinecontributestopupilcamouflageinacryptobenthicmarinefish AT pierrepaulbitton daytimeeyeshinecontributestopupilcamouflageinacryptobenthicmarinefish AT ulrikekharant daytimeeyeshinecontributestopupilcamouflageinacryptobenthicmarinefish AT nicokmichiels daytimeeyeshinecontributestopupilcamouflageinacryptobenthicmarinefish
_version_	1718394254363983872

Daytime eyeshine contributes to pupil camouflage in a cryptobenthic marine fish

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