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Author | Dacke, M.; Baird, E.; Byrne, M.; Scholtz, C.H.; Warrant, E.J. | ||||
Title | Dung beetles use the Milky Way for orientation | Type | Journal Article | ||
Year | 2013 | Publication | Current Biology : CB | Abbreviated Journal | Curr Biol |
Volume | 23 | Issue | 4 | Pages | 298-300 |
Keywords | Animals; Beetles/*physiology; *Behavior, Animal; Cues; Feces; *Galaxies; Locomotion; Moon; Motor Activity; Orientation/*physiology; *Stars, Celestial; Vision, Ocular/physiology; Milky Way; insects | ||||
Abstract | When the moon is absent from the night sky, stars remain as celestial visual cues. Nonetheless, only birds, seals, and humans are known to use stars for orientation. African ball-rolling dung beetles exploit the sun, the moon, and the celestial polarization pattern to move along straight paths, away from the intense competition at the dung pile. Even on clear moonless nights, many beetles still manage to orientate along straight paths. This led us to hypothesize that dung beetles exploit the starry sky for orientation, a feat that has, to our knowledge, never been demonstrated in an insect. Here, we show that dung beetles transport their dung balls along straight paths under a starlit sky but lose this ability under overcast conditions. In a planetarium, the beetles orientate equally well when rolling under a full starlit sky as when only the Milky Way is present. The use of this bidirectional celestial cue for orientation has been proposed for vertebrates, spiders, and insects, but never proven. This finding represents the first convincing demonstration for the use of the starry sky for orientation in insects and provides the first documented use of the Milky Way for orientation in the animal kingdom. | ||||
Address | Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden. marie.dacke@biol.lu.se | ||||
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Language | English | Summary Language | Original Title | ||
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ISSN | 0960-9822 | ISBN | Medium | ||
Area | Expedition | Conference | |||
Notes | PMID:23352694 | Approved | no | ||
Call Number | IDA @ john @ | Serial | 116 | ||
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Author | Narendra, A.; Reid, S.F.; Raderschall, C.A. | ||||
Title | Navigational efficiency of nocturnal Myrmecia ants suffers at low light levels | Type | Journal Article | ||
Year | 2013 | Publication | PloS one | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS One |
Volume | 8 | Issue | 3 | Pages | e58801 |
Keywords | Adaptation, Biological/*physiology; Animals; Ants/*physiology; Australian Capital Territory; *Cues; Geographic Information Systems; Homing Behavior/*physiology; *Light; Locomotion/*physiology; Orientation/*physiology; insects | ||||
Abstract | Insects face the challenge of navigating to specific goals in both bright sun-lit and dim-lit environments. Both diurnal and nocturnal insects use quite similar navigation strategies. This is despite the signal-to-noise ratio of the navigational cues being poor at low light conditions. To better understand the evolution of nocturnal life, we investigated the navigational efficiency of a nocturnal ant, Myrmecia pyriformis, at different light levels. Workers of M. pyriformis leave the nest individually in a narrow light-window in the evening twilight to forage on nest-specific Eucalyptus trees. The majority of foragers return to the nest in the morning twilight, while few attempt to return to the nest throughout the night. We found that as light levels dropped, ants paused for longer, walked more slowly, the success in finding the nest reduced and their paths became less straight. We found that in both bright and dark conditions ants relied predominantly on visual landmark information for navigation and that landmark guidance became less reliable at low light conditions. It is perhaps due to the poor navigational efficiency at low light levels that the majority of foragers restrict navigational tasks to the twilight periods, where sufficient navigational information is still available. | ||||
Address | ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. ajay.narendra@anu.edu.au | ||||
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Language | English | Summary Language | Original Title | ||
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ISSN | 1932-6203 | ISBN | Medium | ||
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Notes | PMID:23484052; PMCID:PMC3590162 | Approved | no | ||
Call Number | IDA @ john @ | Serial | 117 | ||
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Author | Nwosu, L.C.; Nwosu, L.K. | ||||
Title | Influence of Type of Electric Bright Light on the Attraction of the African Giant Water Bug, Lethocerus indicus (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) | Type | Journal Article | ||
Year | 2012 | Publication | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology | Abbreviated Journal | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
Volume | 2012 | Issue | Pages | 1-4 | |
Keywords | insects; bugs; African giant water bug; Lethocerus indicus; Hemiptera; Belostomatidae | ||||
Abstract | This study investigated the influence of type of electric bright light (produced by fluorescent light tube and incandescent light bulb) on the attraction of the African giant water bug, Lethocerus indicus (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae). Four fluorescent light tubes of 15 watts each, producing white-coloured light and four incandescent light bulbs of 60 watts each, producing yellow-coloured light, but both producing the same amount of light, were varied and used for the experiments. Collections of bugs at experimental house were done at night between the hours of 8.30 pm and 12 mid-night on daily basis for a period of four months per experiment in the years 2008 and 2009. Lethocerus indicus whose presence in any environment has certain implications was the predominant belostomatid bug in the area. Use of incandescent light bulbs in 2009 significantly attracted more Lethocerus indicus 103 (74.6%) than use of fluorescent light tubes 35 (25.41%) in 2008 [ 𝑃 < 0 . 0 5 ; 𝑃 ( 𝑍 > 4 . 9 2 ) = 0 . 0 0 0 1 ]. However, bugâs attraction to light source was not found sex dependent [ 𝑃 > 0 . 0 5 ; 𝑃 ( 𝑍 > 0 . 1 8 ) = 0 . 4 2 8 6 and 𝑍 > 0 . 2 8 = 0 . 3 8 9 7 ]. Therefore, this study recommends the use of fluorescent light by households, campgrounds, and other recreational centres that are potentially exposed to the nuisance of the giant water bugs. Otherwise, incandescent light bulbs should be used when it is desired to attract the presence of these aquatic bugs either for food or scientific studies. |
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ISSN | 0033-2615 | ISBN | Medium | ||
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Notes | Approved | no | |||
Call Number | IDA @ john @ | Serial | 118 | ||
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Author | Kelber, A. | ||||
Title | Light intensity limits foraging activity in nocturnal and crepuscular bees | Type | Journal Article | ||
Year | 2005 | Publication | Behavioral Ecology | Abbreviated Journal | Behavioral Ecology |
Volume | 17 | Issue | 1 | Pages | 63-72 |
Keywords | bees; eyes; foraging; insects; ocelli; sensitivity; visual ecology | ||||
Abstract | A crepuscular or nocturnal lifestyle has evolved in bees several times independently, probably to explore rewarding pollen sources without competition and to minimize predation and nest parasites. Despite these obvious advantages, only few bee species are nocturnal. Here we show that the sensitivity of the bee apposition eye is a major factor limiting the ability to forage in dim light. We present data on eye size, foraging times, and light levels for Megalopta genalis (Augochlorini, Halictidae) in Panama, and Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) sp. (Halictini, Halictidae) in Utah, USA. M. genalis females forage exclusively during twilight, but as a result of dim light levels in the rain forest, they are adapted to extremely low intensities. The likely factor limiting their foraging activity is finding their nest entrance on return from a foraging trip. The lowest light intensity at which they can do this, both in the morning and the evening, is 0.0001 cd m−2. Therefore, they leave the nest at dimmer light levels in the morning than in the evening. Lasioglossum (Sphecodogastra) foraging is limited by light intensity in the evening, but probably by temperature in the morning in the temperate climate of Utah. We propose that the evolution of nocturnality in bees was favored by the large variance in the size of females. | ||||
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ISSN | 1045-2249 | ISBN | Medium | ||
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Notes | Approved | no | |||
Call Number | IDA @ john @ | Serial | 119 | ||
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Author | Simpson, S.N.; Hanna, B.G. | ||||
Title | Willingness to pay for a clear night sky: use of the contingent valuation method | Type | Journal Article | ||
Year | 2010 | Publication | Applied Economics Letters | Abbreviated Journal | Applied Economics Letters |
Volume | 17 | Issue | 11 | Pages | 1095-1103 |
Keywords | economics; contingent valuation method; light pollution | ||||
Abstract | This article applies the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to the issue of night sky pollution. Light pollution decreases the ability to view a clear, unobstructed night sky. We administered a survey to the students of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to obtain estimates of Willingness To Pay (WTP) to improve night sky visibility and to prevent deterioration in visibility. This is the first CVM study that attempts to distinguish between these different WTPs. We find that students are willing to pay significantly more for a larger improvement in night sky conditions. We also find significant differences in WTP to improve versus prevent deterioration in night sky conditions. | ||||
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ISSN | 1350-4851 | ISBN | Medium | ||
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Notes | Approved | no | |||
Call Number | IDA @ john @ | Serial | 121 | ||
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