Lunar orientation in a beetle

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Volumn 271, Issue 1537, 2004, Pages 361-365

  Dacke, Marie ^a   Byrne, Marcus J ^b   Scholtz, Clarke H ^c   Warrant, Eric J ^a  

^a LUND UNIVERSITY   (Sweden)

^b UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND   (South Africa)

^c UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Dung beetle; Moon; Orientation; Polarization pattern; Scarabaeus zambesianus; Vision

Indexed keywords

BEETLE; ORIENTATION; POLARIZATION; VISION;

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR; ANIMAL EXPERIMENT; ARTICLE; BEETLE; CONTROLLED STUDY; LIGHT; MOON; NIGHT; NONHUMAN; POLARIZATION; PRIORITY JOURNAL; TASK PERFORMANCE;

ANIMALIA; COLEOPTERA; HEXAPODA; INVERTEBRATA; SCARABAEIDAE; SCARABAEUS; SCARABAEUS ZAMBESIANUS;

EID: 1242292250     PISSN: 09628452     EISSN: 14712970     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2003.2594     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Able, K. P. 1980 Mechanisms of orientation, navigation, and homing. In Animal migration, orientation, and navigation (ed. S. A. Gauthreaux), pp. 283-373. New York: Academic Press.
2. Able, K. P. 1989 Skylight polarization patterns and the orientation of migratory birds. J. Exp. Biol. 141, 241-256.
3. Baker, R. R. 1987 Integrated use of moon and magnetic compasses by the heart-and-dart moth, Agrotis exclamationis. Anim. Behav. 35, 94-101.
4. Batschelet, E. 1981 Circular statistics in biology. London: Academic Press.
5. Bisch, S. M. 1999 Orientierungsleistungen des nachtaktiven Wüstenkäfers Parastizopus armaticeps Peringuey (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Dissertation der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhems-Universität Bonn.
6. Blum, M. & Labhart, T. 2000 Photoreceptor visual fields, ommatidial array, and receptor axon projections in the polarisation-sensitive dorsal rim area of the cricket compound eye. J. Comp. Physiol. A 186, 119-128.
7. Brines, M. L. & Gould, J. L. 1982 Skylight polarisation patterns and animal orientation. J. Exp. Biol. 96, 69-91.
8. Byrne, M. J., Dacke, M., Nordström, P., Scholtz, C. & Warrant, E. J. 2003 Visual cues used by ball-rolling dung beetles for orientation. J. Comp. Physiol. A 189, 411-418.
9. Dacke, M., Nilsson, D.-E., Warrant, E. J., Blest, A. D., Land, M. F. & O'Carroll, D. C. 1999 Built-in polarizers form part of a compass organ in spiders. Nature 401, 470-473.
10. Dacke, M., Nordström, P., Scholtz, C. H. & Warrant, E. J. 2002 A specialised dorsal rim area for polarized light detection in the compound eye of the scarab beetle Pachysoma striatum. J. Comp. Physiol. A 188, 211-216.
11. Dacke, M., Nordström, P. & Scholtz, C. H. 2003a Twilight orientation to polarised light in the crepuscular dung beetle Scarabaeus zambesianus. J. Exp. Biol. 206, 1535-1543.
12. Dacke, M., Nilsson, D.-E., Scholtz, C. H., Byrne, M. & Warrant, E. J. 2003b First evidence of animal orientation to the polarisation of a moonlit sky. Nature 424, 33.
13. Ferguson, D. E., Landreth, H. F. & Turnipseed, M. R. 1965 Astronomical orientation of the Southern cricket frog, Acris gryllus. Copeia 1, 58-66.
14. Freake, M. J. 1999 Evidence for orientation using the e-vector direction of polarized light in the sleepy lizard Tiliqua rugosa. J. Exp. Biol. 202, 1159-1166.
15. Gál, J., Horváth, G., Barta, A. & Wehner, R. 2001 Polarization of the moonlit clear night sky measured by full-sky imaging polarimetry at full moon: comparison of the polarization of moonlit and sunlit skies. J. Geophys. Res. 106, 22 647-22 653.
16. Herzmann, D. & Labhart, T. 1989 Spectral sensitivity and absolute threshold of polarization vision in crickets: a behavioral study. J. Comp. Physiol. A 165, 315-319.
17. Jander, R. 1957 Die optische Richtungsorientierung der Roten Waldameise (Formica rufa). Z. Vergl. Physiol. 40, 162-238.
18. Kerfbot, W. B. 1967 The lunar periodicity of Sphecodogastra texana, a nocturnal bee (Hymenoptera; Halictidae). Anim. Behav. 15, 479-486.
19. Labhart, T. 1980 Specialized photoreceptors at the dorsal rim of the honeybee's compound eye: polarizational and angular sensitivity. J. Comp. Physiol. 141, 19-30.
20. Labhart, T. 1986 The electrophysiology of photoreceptors in different eye regions of the desert ant, Cataglyphis tricolor. J. Comp. Physiol. A 158, 1-7.
21. Labhart, T. & Meyer, E. P. 1999 Detectors for polarized skylight in insects: a survey of ommatidial specializations in the dorsal rim area of the compound eye. Microsc. Res. Tech. 47, 368-379.
22. Labhart, T., Petzold, J. & Helbling, H. 2001 Spatial integration in polarization-sensitive interneurones of crickets: a survey of evidence, mechanisms and benefits. J. Exp. Biol. 204, 2423-2430.
23. Leuthold, R. H., Bruinsma, O. & van Huis, A. 1976 Optical and pheromonal orientation and memory for homing distance in the harvester termite Hodotermes mossabicus (Hagen). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 1, 127-139.
24. McIntyre, P. D. & Caveney, S. 1998 Superposition optics and the time of flight in onitine dung beetles. J. Comp. Physiol. A 183, 45-60.
25. Nilsson, D., Labhart, T. & Meyer, E. P. 1987 Photoreceptor design and optical properties affecting polarization sensitivity in ants and crickets. J. Comp. Physiol. A 161, 645-658.
26. Pardi, L. 1954 Über die Orientierung von Tylos latreillii Aud. and Sav. (Isopoda terrestria). Z. Tierpsychol. 11, 175-181.
27. Snyder, A. W. 1973 Polarization sensitivity of individual retinula cells. J. Comp. Physiol. 83, 331-360.
28. Sotthibandhu, S. & Baker, R. R. 1979 Celestial orientation by the large yellow underwing moth, Noctua pronuba L. Anim. Behav. 27, 786-800.
29. Strutt, J. (Lord Rayleigh) 1871 On the light from the sky, its polarization and its colour. Phil. Mag. 41, 107-120.
30. Tongiorgi, P. 1970 Evidence of a moon orientation in the wolf spider, Arctosa variana C. L. Koch (Araneae, Lycosidae). Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Natur. 41, 243-249.
31. Ugolini, A. & Chiussi, R. 1996 Astronomical orientation and learning in the earwig Labidura riparia. Behav. Processes 36, 151-161.
32. Ugolini, A., Melis, C. & Innocenti, R. 1999a Moon orientation in adult and young sandhoppers. J. Comp. Physiol. A 184, 9-12.
33. Ugolini, A., Melis, C., Innocenti, R., Tiribilli, B. & Castellini, C. 1999b Moon and sun compass in sandhoppers rely on two separate chronometric mechanisms. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 266, 749-752. (DOI 10.1098/rspb.1999.0700.)
34. Ugolini, A., Fantini, T. & Innocenti, R. 2003 Orientation at night: an innate moon compass in sandhoppers (Amphipoda: Talitridae). Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 270, 279-281. (DOI 10.1098/rspb.2002.2221.)
35. Waterman, T. H. 1981 Polarization sensitivity. In Handbook of sensory physiology, vol. VII/6B (ed. H. Autrum), pp. 281-469. Berlin: Springer.
36. Wehner, R. 1984 Astronavigation in insects. A. Rev. Entomol. 29, 277-298.
37. Wehner, R. 1989 The hymenopteran skylight compass: matched filtering and parallel coding. J. Exp. Biol. 146, 63-85.
38. Wehner, R. 1994 The polarization-vision project: championing organismic biology. Fortschr. Zool. 39, 103-143.
39. Wehner, R., Bernard, G. D. & Geiger, E. 1975 Twisted and non-twisted rhabdoms and their significance for polarization detection in the bee. J. Comp. Physiol. 104, 225-245.