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First published online June 15, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 2509-2514 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02300
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Green land and blue sea: a coloured landscape in the orientation of the sandhopper Talitrus saltator (Montagu) (Amphipoda, Talitridae)

Alberto Ugolini1,*, Silvia Somigli1 and Luca Mercatelli2

1 Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy
2 Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Applicata, Firenze, Italy

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: ugolini_alb{at}dbag.unifi.it)

Accepted 25 April 2006

The use of the landscape in the zonal recovery of Talitrus saltator (Montagu) was demonstrated in the past using natural and artificial landscapes. Here we evaluate the importance of colour in the landscape orientation of sandhoppers. Adult individuals of T. saltator were released in a Plexiglas bowl under the sun, with a view of an artificial landscape: a black cardboard strip or a pair of differently coloured filters, each occupying 180° of the horizon. Our results not only confirm the influence of the black and white artificial landscape-based compass cue on the zonal orientation of T. saltator, but also show that vision of a blue and green artificial landscape affects the direction of orientation; in fact, the orientation agreed with the directional indication of the landscape even when it contrasted with the sun compass indication. The same result was obtained with a blue–grey and green–grey landscape, but not with pairs of grey filters. Therefore, in the sandhoppers' visual world, a coloured landscape that matches the prevalent natural field colours greatly contributes to their directional choice.

Key words: orientation, landscape, colour, vision, sandhopper, Talitrus saltator






© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2006