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Evolution of the First Nervous Systems pp 373–388Cite as

Hydromedusan Photophysiology: An Evolutionary Perspective

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Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSA,volume 188))

Abstract

Although there has been a long standing debate on the number of phyletic Unes of photoreceptor structure evolution (Eakin, 1982; Salvini-Plawen, 1982; Vanfleteren, 1982), there seems to be a growing consensus that photoreceptor organelles may have arisen anew several times from photosensitive ciliated ectodermal cells (Salvini-Plawen and Mayr, 1977; Burr 1984). Modifications to a simple photosensitive cell leading to a more complex “eye” appear to be a “...polyphyletic reaction to respective selective pressures...” (Salvini-Plawen, 1982). This process has led to an extraordinarily diverse array of photoreceptor types. To generate this diversity of photoreceptors, modifications were presumably functionally adaptive to a particular group of animals. This basic premise implies that there is a positive correlation between the degree of structural complexity and photoreceptor function (Salvini-Plawen and Mayr, 1977), revealed either by its photophysiology or by the behavior of the animal. Yet, for many groups of simple invertebrates, and particularly cnidarians, there has been insufficient information to begin to examine this correlation.

“Jellyfish have no brains and they do not look like they are able to integrate [light] information. Yet, medusae must integrate information, even if we do not understand how they do it.” W. M. Hamner, 1985.

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  1. Department of Physiology, The Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TD, UK

    Stuart A. Arkett

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  1. University of Florida, St. Augustine, Florida, USA

    Peter A. V. Anderson

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Arkett, S.A. (1989). Hydromedusan Photophysiology: An Evolutionary Perspective. In: Anderson, P.A.V. (eds) Evolution of the First Nervous Systems. NATO ASI Series, vol 188. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0921-3_27

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