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The Design of Compound Eyes and the Illumination of Natural Habitats

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Ecology of Sensing

Abstract

Compound eyes are the most abundant eye design in the animal kingdom, and probably its most adaptable. In this chapter I describe the ways in which compound eyes have evolved in response to the intensity and direction of natural illumination. Species active in bright light generally have no need for compound eyes of high sensitivity. Instead, their eyes frequently possess acute zones, regions where spatial resolution is greatly enhanced, and where the spatial layout of ommatidia is often matched to the spatial layout of the habitat. Such matched filtering is not confined to habitat structure. Acute zones may also behave as matched filters for an animal’s motion flow-field or for localizing other animals. In dim light, sensitivity becomes the overriding priority, and at night, or in the depths of sea, compound eyes of immense sensitivity have evolved. Those from increasing depths in the sea also tend to have an increasingly dorsal bias that reflects the dominance of dorsal (down-welling) illumination. These and other aspects of compound eye design are illustrated using a broad range of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates as examples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Lund, Helgonavägen 3, S-22362, Lund, Sweden

    Eric J. Warrant

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  1. Eric J. Warrant
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Biocenter, Institute for Zoology, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Friedrich G. Barth  & Axel Schmid  & 

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Warrant, E.J. (2001). The Design of Compound Eyes and the Illumination of Natural Habitats. In: Barth, F.G., Schmid, A. (eds) Ecology of Sensing. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-22644-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-22644-5_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08619-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-22644-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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