Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet
The Arctic has extreme seasonal changes in light levels and is proportionally UV-rich because of scattering of the shorter wavelengths and their reflection from snow and ice. Here we show that the cornea and lens in Arctic reindeer do not block all UV and that the retina responds electrophysiologica...
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ftcityunivlondon:oai:openaccess.city.ac.uk:2033 2023-07-02T03:30:52+02:00 Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet Hogg, C. Neveu, M. Stokkan, K.-A. Folkow, L. Cottrill, P. Douglas, R. H. Hunt, D. M. Jeffery, G. 2011 application/pdf https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/2033/ https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/2033/1/2014.full.pdf http://jeb.biologists.org/ https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.053553 en eng https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/2033/1/2014.full.pdf Hogg, C., Neveu, M., Stokkan, K.-A. , Folkow, L., Cottrill, P., Douglas, R. H. https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/view/creators_id/r=2Eh=2Edouglas.html , Hunt, D. M. Jeffery, G.view all authorsEPJS_limit_names_shown_load( 'creators_name_2033_et_al', 'creators_name_2033_rest' ); (2011). Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet. Journal of Experimental Biology, 214(12), pp. 2014-2019. doi:10.1242/jeb.053553 https://doi.org/10.1242/%E2%80%8Bjeb.053553 doi:10.1242/jeb.053553 QH301 Biology Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftcityunivlondon https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.053553 2023-06-13T18:28:24Z The Arctic has extreme seasonal changes in light levels and is proportionally UV-rich because of scattering of the shorter wavelengths and their reflection from snow and ice. Here we show that the cornea and lens in Arctic reindeer do not block all UV and that the retina responds electrophysiologically to these wavelengths. Both rod and cone photoreceptors respond to UV at low-intensity stimulation. Retinal RNA extraction and in vitro opsin expression show that the response to UV is not mediated by a specific UV photoreceptor mechanism. Reindeer thus extend their visual range into the short wavelengths characteristic of the winter environment and periods of extended twilight present in spring and autumn. A specific advantage of this short-wavelength vision is the use of potential information caused by differential UV reflections known to occur in both Arctic vegetation and different types of snow. UV is normally highly damaging to the retina, resulting in photoreceptor degeneration. Because such damage appears not to occur in these animals, they may have evolved retinal mechanisms protecting against extreme UV exposure present in the daylight found in the snow-covered late winter environment. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic City University London: City Research Online Arctic Journal of Experimental Biology 214 12 2014 2019 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
City University London: City Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftcityunivlondon |
language |
English |
topic |
QH301 Biology |
spellingShingle |
QH301 Biology Hogg, C. Neveu, M. Stokkan, K.-A. Folkow, L. Cottrill, P. Douglas, R. H. Hunt, D. M. Jeffery, G. Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet |
topic_facet |
QH301 Biology |
description |
The Arctic has extreme seasonal changes in light levels and is proportionally UV-rich because of scattering of the shorter wavelengths and their reflection from snow and ice. Here we show that the cornea and lens in Arctic reindeer do not block all UV and that the retina responds electrophysiologically to these wavelengths. Both rod and cone photoreceptors respond to UV at low-intensity stimulation. Retinal RNA extraction and in vitro opsin expression show that the response to UV is not mediated by a specific UV photoreceptor mechanism. Reindeer thus extend their visual range into the short wavelengths characteristic of the winter environment and periods of extended twilight present in spring and autumn. A specific advantage of this short-wavelength vision is the use of potential information caused by differential UV reflections known to occur in both Arctic vegetation and different types of snow. UV is normally highly damaging to the retina, resulting in photoreceptor degeneration. Because such damage appears not to occur in these animals, they may have evolved retinal mechanisms protecting against extreme UV exposure present in the daylight found in the snow-covered late winter environment. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hogg, C. Neveu, M. Stokkan, K.-A. Folkow, L. Cottrill, P. Douglas, R. H. Hunt, D. M. Jeffery, G. |
author_facet |
Hogg, C. Neveu, M. Stokkan, K.-A. Folkow, L. Cottrill, P. Douglas, R. H. Hunt, D. M. Jeffery, G. |
author_sort |
Hogg, C. |
title |
Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet |
title_short |
Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet |
title_full |
Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet |
title_fullStr |
Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet |
title_full_unstemmed |
Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet |
title_sort |
arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/2033/ https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/2033/1/2014.full.pdf http://jeb.biologists.org/ https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.053553 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic |
op_relation |
https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/2033/1/2014.full.pdf Hogg, C., Neveu, M., Stokkan, K.-A. , Folkow, L., Cottrill, P., Douglas, R. H. https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/view/creators_id/r=2Eh=2Edouglas.html , Hunt, D. M. Jeffery, G.view all authorsEPJS_limit_names_shown_load( 'creators_name_2033_et_al', 'creators_name_2033_rest' ); (2011). Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet. Journal of Experimental Biology, 214(12), pp. 2014-2019. doi:10.1242/jeb.053553 https://doi.org/10.1242/%E2%80%8Bjeb.053553 doi:10.1242/jeb.053553 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.053553 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Biology |
container_volume |
214 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
2014 |
op_container_end_page |
2019 |
_version_ |
1770275169382694912 |