Projects per year
Abstract
Animals are active at different times of the day. Each temporal niche offers a unique light environment, which affects the quality of the available visual information. To access reliable visual signals in dim-light environments, insects have evolved several visual adaptations to enhance their optical sensitivity. The extent to which these adaptations reflect on the sensory processing and integration capabilities within the brain of a nocturnal insect is unknown. To address this, we analyzed brain organization in congeneric species of the Australian bull ant, Myrmecia, that rely predominantly on visual information and range from being strictly diurnal to strictly nocturnal. Weighing brains and optic lobes of seven Myrmecia species, showed that after controlling for body mass, the brain mass was not significantly different between diurnal and nocturnal ants. However, the optic lobe mass, after controlling for central brain mass, differed between day- and night-active ants. Detailed volumetric analyses showed that the nocturnal ants invested relatively less in the primary visual processing regions but relatively more in both the primary olfactory processing regions and in the integration centers of visual and olfactory sensory information. We discuss how the temporal niche occupied by each species may affect cognitive demands, thus shaping brain organization among insects active in dim-light conditions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1261-1277 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Journal of Comparative Neurology |
Volume | 527 |
Issue number | 7 |
Early online date | 27 Dec 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 May 2019 |
Keywords
- allometric scaling
- ants
- brain
- Myrmecia
- neuropil
- RRID:AB_2315424
- RRID:AB_2535771
- RRID:SCR_002285
- RRID:SCR_007353
- temporal niche
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Dive into the research topics of 'Differential investment in brain regions for a diurnal and nocturnal lifestyle in Australian Myrmecia ants'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 2 Finished
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Navigating brains: the neurobiology of spatial cognition
Cheng, K., Zeil, J., Narendra, A., Barron, A., Wehner, R. & MQRES, M.
30/06/15 → 29/06/19
Project: Research
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Information processing at its limits: from the dimmest habitats to the smallest sizes
Narendra, A., MQRES, M. & MQRES (International), M.
1/01/15 → 31/12/18
Project: Research