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First published online February 15, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 789-800 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02053

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Crepuscular and nocturnal illumination and its effects on color perception by the nocturnal hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor

Sönke Johnsen^1,*, Almut Kelber², Eric Warrant², Alison M. Sweeney¹, Edith A. Widder³, Raymond L. Lee, Jr⁴ and Javier Hernández-Andrés⁵

¹ Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
² Department of Cell and Organism Biology, Lund University, Sweden
³ Marine Science Division, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA
⁴ Mathematics and Science Division, US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 21402, USA
⁵ Optics Department, University of Granada, Spain

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: sjohnsen{at}duke.edu)

Accepted 20 December 2005

Recent studies have shown that certain nocturnal insect and vertebrate species have true color vision under nocturnal illumination. Thus, their vision is potentially affected by changes in the spectral quality of twilight and nocturnal illumination, due to the presence or absence of the moon, artificial light pollution and other factors. We investigated this in the following manner. First we measured the spectral irradiance (from 300 to 700 nm) during the day, sunset, twilight, full moon, new moon, and in the presence of high levels of light pollution. The spectra were then converted to both human-based chromaticities and to relative quantum catches for the nocturnal hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor, which has color vision. The reflectance spectra of various flowers and leaves and the red hindwings of D. elpenor were also converted to chromaticities and relative quantum catches. Finally, the achromatic and chromatic contrasts (with and without von Kries color constancy) of the flowers and hindwings against a leaf background were determined under the various lighting environments. The twilight and nocturnal illuminants were substantially different from each other, resulting in significantly different contrasts. The addition of von Kries color constancy significantly reduced the effect of changing illuminants on chromatic contrast, suggesting that, even in this light-limited environment, the ability of color vision to provide reliable signals under changing illuminants may offset the concurrent threefold decrease in sensitivity and spatial resolution. Given this, color vision may be more common in crepuscular and nocturnal species than previously considered.

Key words: hawkmoth, Deilephila elpenor, nocturnal vision, color vision, environmental optics

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