The giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales
Abstract Background We recently reported (Curr Biol 22:683–688, 2012) that the eyes of giant and colossal squid can grow to three times the diameter of the eyes of any other animal, including large fishes and whales. As an explanation to this extreme absolute eye size, we developed a theory for visu...
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ftbiomed:oai:biomedcentral.com:1471-2148-13-187 2023-05-15T15:55:50+02:00 The giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales Nilsson, Dan-E Warrant, Eric J Johnsen, Sönke Hanlon, Roger T Shashar, Nadav 2013-09-08 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/13/187 en eng BioMed Central Ltd. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/13/187 Copyright 2013 Nilsson et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Vision Eyes Giant squid Sperm whale Bioluminescence Mesopelagic Correspondence 2013 ftbiomed 2013-09-15T00:17:11Z Abstract Background We recently reported (Curr Biol 22:683–688, 2012) that the eyes of giant and colossal squid can grow to three times the diameter of the eyes of any other animal, including large fishes and whales. As an explanation to this extreme absolute eye size, we developed a theory for visual performance in aquatic habitats, leading to the conclusion that the huge eyes of giant and colossal squid are uniquely suited for detection of sperm whales, which are important squid-predators in the depths where these squid live. A paper in this journal by Schmitz et al. (BMC Evol Biol 13:45, 2013) refutes our conclusions on the basis of two claims: (1) using allometric data they argue that the eyes of giant and colossal squid are not unexpectedly large for the size of the squid, and (2) a revision of the values used for modelling indicates that large eyes are not better for detection of approaching sperm whales than they are for any other task. Results and conclusions We agree with Schmitz et al. that their revised values for intensity and abundance of planktonic bioluminescence may be more realistic, or at least more appropriately conservative, but argue that their conclusions are incorrect because they have not considered some of the main arguments put forward in our paper. We also present new modelling to demonstrate that our conclusions remain robust, even with the revised input values suggested by Schmitz et al. Other/Unknown Material Colossal Squid Sperm whale BioMed Central |
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Vision Eyes Giant squid Sperm whale Bioluminescence Mesopelagic |
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Vision Eyes Giant squid Sperm whale Bioluminescence Mesopelagic Nilsson, Dan-E Warrant, Eric J Johnsen, Sönke Hanlon, Roger T Shashar, Nadav The giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales |
topic_facet |
Vision Eyes Giant squid Sperm whale Bioluminescence Mesopelagic |
description |
Abstract Background We recently reported (Curr Biol 22:683–688, 2012) that the eyes of giant and colossal squid can grow to three times the diameter of the eyes of any other animal, including large fishes and whales. As an explanation to this extreme absolute eye size, we developed a theory for visual performance in aquatic habitats, leading to the conclusion that the huge eyes of giant and colossal squid are uniquely suited for detection of sperm whales, which are important squid-predators in the depths where these squid live. A paper in this journal by Schmitz et al. (BMC Evol Biol 13:45, 2013) refutes our conclusions on the basis of two claims: (1) using allometric data they argue that the eyes of giant and colossal squid are not unexpectedly large for the size of the squid, and (2) a revision of the values used for modelling indicates that large eyes are not better for detection of approaching sperm whales than they are for any other task. Results and conclusions We agree with Schmitz et al. that their revised values for intensity and abundance of planktonic bioluminescence may be more realistic, or at least more appropriately conservative, but argue that their conclusions are incorrect because they have not considered some of the main arguments put forward in our paper. We also present new modelling to demonstrate that our conclusions remain robust, even with the revised input values suggested by Schmitz et al. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Nilsson, Dan-E Warrant, Eric J Johnsen, Sönke Hanlon, Roger T Shashar, Nadav |
author_facet |
Nilsson, Dan-E Warrant, Eric J Johnsen, Sönke Hanlon, Roger T Shashar, Nadav |
author_sort |
Nilsson, Dan-E |
title |
The giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales |
title_short |
The giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales |
title_full |
The giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales |
title_fullStr |
The giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
The giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales |
title_sort |
giant eyes of giant squid are indeed unexpectedly large, but not if used for spotting sperm whales |
publisher |
BioMed Central Ltd. |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/13/187 |
genre |
Colossal Squid Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Colossal Squid Sperm whale |
op_relation |
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/13/187 |
op_rights |
Copyright 2013 Nilsson et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. |
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