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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2011
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ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:1311496 2023-12-24T10:13:04+01:00 Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet Hogg, C Neveu, M Stokkan, KA Folkow, L Cottrill, P Douglas, R Hunt, DM Jeffery, G 2011-06-15 text https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1311496/1/Cottrill_2014.full.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1311496/ eng eng COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1311496/1/Cottrill_2014.full.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1311496/ open The Journal of Experimental Biology , 214 (12) 2014 - 2019. (2011) ultraviolet vision Arctic reindeer light scatter Article 2011 ftucl 2023-11-27T13:07:30Z 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 University College London: UCL Discovery Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University College London: UCL Discovery |
op_collection_id |
ftucl |
language |
English |
topic |
ultraviolet vision Arctic reindeer light scatter |
spellingShingle |
ultraviolet vision Arctic reindeer light scatter Hogg, C Neveu, M Stokkan, KA Folkow, L Cottrill, P Douglas, R Hunt, DM Jeffery, G Arctic reindeer extend their visual range into the ultraviolet |
topic_facet |
ultraviolet vision Arctic reindeer light scatter |
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, KA Folkow, L Cottrill, P Douglas, R Hunt, DM Jeffery, G |
author_facet |
Hogg, C Neveu, M Stokkan, KA Folkow, L Cottrill, P Douglas, R Hunt, DM 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 |
publisher |
COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1311496/1/Cottrill_2014.full.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1311496/ |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
The Journal of Experimental Biology , 214 (12) 2014 - 2019. (2011) |
op_relation |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1311496/1/Cottrill_2014.full.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1311496/ |
op_rights |
open |
_version_ |
1786179223509008384 |