Marshall Justin, Johnsen Sonke
Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2017 Jul 5;372(1724). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0335.
Fluorescence is a physico-chemical energy exchange where shorter-wavelength photons are absorbed by a molecule and are re-emitted as longer-wavelength photons. It has been suggested a means of communication in several taxa including flowers, pitcher plants, corals, algae, worms, squid, spiders, stomatopods, fish, reptiles, parrots and humans. The surface or object that the pigment molecule is part of appears to glow due to its setting rather than an actual production of light, and this may enhance both signals and, in some cases, camouflage. This review examines some known uses of fluorescence, mainly in the context of visual communication in animals, the challenge being to distinguish when fluorescence is a functional feature of biological coloration or when it is a by-product of a pigment or other molecule. In general, we conclude that most observations of fluorescence lack enough evidence to suggest they are used in visually driven behaviours.This article is part of the themed issue 'Animal coloration: production, perception, function and application'.
荧光是一种物理化学能量交换过程，其中较短波长的光子被分子吸收，然后重新发射为较长波长的光子。有人提出，荧光是包括花朵、猪笼草、珊瑚、藻类、蠕虫、鱿鱼、蜘蛛、口足类动物、鱼类、爬行动物、鹦鹉和人类在内的多个生物类群中的一种交流方式。色素分子所在的表面或物体似乎因其所处环境而发光，而非实际产生光，这可能增强信号，在某些情况下还能起到伪装作用。本综述探讨了荧光的一些已知用途，主要是在动物视觉交流的背景下，面临的挑战是区分荧光何时是生物着色的功能特征，何时是色素或其他分子的副产品。总体而言，我们得出结论，大多数关于荧光的观察缺乏足够证据表明它们被用于视觉驱动的行为。本文是主题为“动物色彩：产生、感知、功能及应用”特刊的一部分。
