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Electrophysiological measures of temporal resolution, contrast sensitivity and spatial resolving power in sharks

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Abstract

In most animals, vision plays an important role in detecting prey, predators and conspecifics. The effectiveness of vision in assessing cues such as motion and shape is influenced by the ability of the visual system to detect changes in contrast in both space and time. Understanding the role vision plays in shark behaviour has been limited by a lack of knowledge about their temporal resolution, contrast sensitivity and spatial resolution. In this study, an electrophysiological approach was used to compare these measures across five species of sharks: Chiloscyllium punctatum, Heterodontus portusjacksoni, Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Mustelus mustelus and Haploblepharus edwardsii. All shark species were highly sensitive to brightness contrast and were able to detect contrast differences as low as 1.6%. Temporal resolution of flickering stimuli ranged from 28 to 44 Hz. Species that inhabit brighter environments were found to have higher temporal resolution. Spatial resolving power was estimated in C. punctatum, H. portusjacksoni and H. ocellatum and ranged from 0.10 to 0.35 cycles per degree, which is relatively low compared to other vertebrates. These results suggest that sharks have retinal adaptations that enhance contrast sensitivity at the expense of temporal and spatial resolution, which is beneficial for vision in dimly lit and/or low contrast aquatic environments.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

CFFF:

Critical flicker fusion frequency

cpd:

Cycles per degree

ERG:

Electroretinogram

FFT:

Fast Fourier transform

FL:

Fork length

LED:

Light-emitting diode

MS222:

Methanesulfonate salt

PERG:

Pattern electroretinogram

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Western Australian State Government (to NSH and SPC) and the Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation (to NSH and LAR). We thank the staff and volunteers of Oceans Campus in Mossel Bay, who assisted with this study, especially Dr. Enrico Gennari and Mr. Alan Jardine. We would also like to acknowledge Ms. Caroline Kerr, Mr. Carl Schmidt, Ms. Lucille Chapuis and Dr. Ryan Kempster for their assistance in the use and maintenance of animals used in this study. All experiments complied with the Animal Welfare Act (2002) and were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of The University of Western Australia (Approval RA/3/100/1220) and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs: Biodiversity and Coastal Research, Oceans and Coasts Branch (Permit RES2015/96).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Laura A. Ryan, Jan M. Hemmi, Shaun P. Collin & Nathan S. Hart

  2. The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Laura A. Ryan, Jan M. Hemmi, Shaun P. Collin & Nathan S. Hart

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Nathan S. Hart

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Correspondence to Laura A. Ryan.

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Ryan, L.A., Hemmi, J.M., Collin, S.P. et al. Electrophysiological measures of temporal resolution, contrast sensitivity and spatial resolving power in sharks. J Comp Physiol A 203, 197–210 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-017-1154-z

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