Spectral Sensitivity and Color Vision in Invertebrates

Abstract

The visual world offers a variety of information that enables animals to orient themselves to their surroundings. One specific feature of the visual information is the wavelength difference of light emittedfrom light sources or reflectedfrom objects. Under natural conditions, a general difference in the spectral composition of light is based upon the fact that light coming directly from light sources, e.g., the sun, sky, and moon, is characterized by its relatively high content of short wavelength (<450nm), whereas light reflected from natural objects such as leaves and soil lacks UV light and is dominated by green and yellow light (>450nm) (Figs. 1). The physical basis of these differences is the preferential absorption by pigment molecules, which—in contrast to atoms and small molecules—have resonances above 300 nm and shift the bulk of the reflected light into the green and orange region of the spectrum. In water, the wavelength range is compressed in the long-wavelength part of the spectrum due to water’s high absorption of red and infrared light (Fig. 1). But in water, too, direct light is relatively richer in shortwave light. Neglecting the finer differences in the spectral content of light, this general distinction between direct and reflected light could be the cue that allows an animal to differentiate such basically different habitats as open spaces, shadowed areas, spaces rich in food, hiding places, etc.