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Compound eye structure: Matching eye to environment

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Adaptive Mechanisms in the Ecology of Vision

Abstract

In what ways is an animal’s lifestyle reflected in the design of its eyes? A superficial look at the eyes of any vertebrate group — fish, birds or mammals — reveals very little, except perhaps some relative differences in overall eye size. It is not until the retina is examined in detail that ecologically related differences start to appear, particularly in the distribution of ganglion cells (Collin, this volume). With compound eyes the situation is quite different, and it is often possible to learn much about the life of an insect or crustacean from the gross anatomy of the eyes, as well as their microscopic structure. This chapter explores why this is so, and offers a guide to the interpretation of the variation one finds.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sussex Centre for Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, UK

    M. F. Land

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  1. M. F. Land
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Marine Centre, Oristano, Sardinia, Italy

    S. N. Archer  & S. Vallerga  & 

  2. Department of Biology, Imperial College, London, UK

    M. B. A. Djamgoz

  3. Department of Physiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    E. R. Loew

  4. School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    J. C. Partridge

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Land, M.F. (1999). Compound eye structure: Matching eye to environment. In: Archer, S.N., Djamgoz, M.B.A., Loew, E.R., Partridge, J.C., Vallerga, S. (eds) Adaptive Mechanisms in the Ecology of Vision. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0619-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0619-3_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5124-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-0619-3

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