Pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications
Phocid and otariid pinnipeds forage almost exclusively under water, where observing them is difficult. As a result, little is known of how their senses are used while diving to locate and capture prey. In this study we used pupillometric methods to describe the relative visual abilities of three pin...
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1997
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z97-838 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z97-838 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z97-838 2023-12-17T10:29:38+01:00 Pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications Levenson, David Hendrik Schusterman, Ronald J. 1997 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z97-838 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z97-838 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 75, issue 12, page 2050-2057 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1997 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z97-838 2023-11-19T13:38:48Z Phocid and otariid pinnipeds forage almost exclusively under water, where observing them is difficult. As a result, little is known of how their senses are used while diving to locate and capture prey. In this study we used pupillometric methods to describe the relative visual abilities of three pinniped species: the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), and the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). The range of pupillary area and lower limit of pupillary adjustment were determined for each species. The northern elephant seal exhibited the largest range of pupillary area of the species examined. Furthermore, the elephant seal's pupil was found to reach maximum size only under extremely dim conditions. Both the harbor seal and California sea lion exhibited maximum pupillary dilation in conditions several log units brighter. These results indicate that the elephant seal's visual system is designed to function in dimmer conditions and to respond to greater changes in light levels than those of the harbor seal and sea lion. Such findings support the hypothesis that the visual systems of these pinnipeds are adapted for use in their respective foraging environments, and thus suggest that the visual sense is probably an important sensory modality used to locate and capture prey while diving. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seal harbor seal Phoca vitulina Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Canadian Journal of Zoology 75 12 2050 2057 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Levenson, David Hendrik Schusterman, Ronald J. Pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Phocid and otariid pinnipeds forage almost exclusively under water, where observing them is difficult. As a result, little is known of how their senses are used while diving to locate and capture prey. In this study we used pupillometric methods to describe the relative visual abilities of three pinniped species: the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), and the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). The range of pupillary area and lower limit of pupillary adjustment were determined for each species. The northern elephant seal exhibited the largest range of pupillary area of the species examined. Furthermore, the elephant seal's pupil was found to reach maximum size only under extremely dim conditions. Both the harbor seal and California sea lion exhibited maximum pupillary dilation in conditions several log units brighter. These results indicate that the elephant seal's visual system is designed to function in dimmer conditions and to respond to greater changes in light levels than those of the harbor seal and sea lion. Such findings support the hypothesis that the visual systems of these pinnipeds are adapted for use in their respective foraging environments, and thus suggest that the visual sense is probably an important sensory modality used to locate and capture prey while diving. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Levenson, David Hendrik Schusterman, Ronald J. |
author_facet |
Levenson, David Hendrik Schusterman, Ronald J. |
author_sort |
Levenson, David Hendrik |
title |
Pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications |
title_short |
Pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications |
title_full |
Pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications |
title_fullStr |
Pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications |
title_sort |
pupillometry in seals and sea lions: ecological implications |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z97-838 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z97-838 |
genre |
Elephant Seal harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seal harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 75, issue 12, page 2050-2057 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z97-838 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
75 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
2050 |
op_container_end_page |
2057 |
_version_ |
1785582062854471680 |