Fernández-Juricic Esteban
Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Behav Processes. 2012 Feb;89(2):143-52. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.10.006. Epub 2011 Nov 18.
Birds gather visual information through scanning behavior to make decisions relevant for survival (e.g., detecting predators and finding food). The goal of this study was (a) to review some visual properties involved in scanning behavior (retinal specialization for visual resolution and motion detection, visual acuity, and size of the blind area), and (b) hypothesize how the inter-specific variability in these properties may lead to different scanning strategies. The avian visual system has a high degree of heterogeneity in visual performance across the visual field, with some sectors providing higher levels of visual resolution and motion detection (e.g., retinal specializations) than others (e.g., peripheral retina and blind area). Thus, information quality will vary in different parts of the visual field, which contradicts some theoretical assumptions on information gathering. Birds need to move their eyes and heads to align the retinal specializations to different sectors of visual space. The rates of eye and head movements can then be used as proxies for scanning strategies. I propose specific predictions as to how each of the visual properties studied can affect scanning strategies in the context of predator detection in different habitat types and with different levels of predation risk. Establishing the degree of association between sensory specializations and scanning strategies can enhance our understanding of the evolution of anti-predator behavior.
鸟类通过扫视行为收集视觉信息，以做出与生存相关的决策（例如，检测捕食者和寻找食物）。本研究的目的是：（a）回顾一些与扫视行为有关的视觉特性（用于视觉分辨率和运动检测的视网膜特化、视敏度以及盲区大小），以及（b）假设这些特性的种间变异性如何导致不同的扫视策略。鸟类视觉系统在整个视野中的视觉表现具有高度异质性，一些区域（例如视网膜特化区域）提供的视觉分辨率和运动检测水平高于其他区域（例如周边视网膜和盲区）。因此，视野不同部分的信息质量会有所不同，这与一些关于信息收集的理论假设相矛盾。鸟类需要移动眼睛和头部，使视网膜特化区域对准视觉空间的不同部分。然后，眼睛和头部的移动速度可以用作扫视策略的指标。我针对所研究的每种视觉特性如何在不同栖息地类型和不同捕食风险水平的捕食者检测背景下影响扫视策略提出了具体预测。确定感官特化与扫视策略之间的关联程度可以增强我们对反捕食行为进化的理解。
