Introductory Remarks
VII
"design" principles of filiform hairs by asking which effects ecology may have
had on the adaptive evolution of these extremely sensitive mechanosensors in
terrestrial and aquatic habitats, respectively. The question is: what is physically
possible, and which biological solutions do we actually find? Peter Narins then
devotes his contribution to the ways in which vertebrates detect and utilize
vibrational or seismic surface waves to communicate. Finally, taking the lateral
line system as an example, Horst Bleckmann, Joachim Mogdans, and Guido
Dehnhardt emphasize the importance of applying natural and ecologically
meaningful stimulus patterns and noise conditions when striving to fully
understand the specializations of a particular sensory system.
Next is Light and Vision (Section IV), that is the specializations and adaptations
used by animals living in different photic environments. Simon Laughlin points to
the relationship between sensory ecology and the energy budget of a sensory
system. He examines how efficiency can be improved in insect compound eyes by
matching the reception and the processing to the properties of the visual stimuli.
Eric Warrant also concentrates on arthropod compound eyes, which show extreme
adaptability. The author reviews the ways in which this most abundant of all eye
types deals with the intensity and direction of natural illumination and how
compound eye design differs in different types of habitat. In his chapter on the
visual ecology of fish, Ron Douglas concentrates on the adaptation of visual
pigments to different photic environments, ranging from the deep sea, with almost
no daylight at all, to the variable colored waters of freshwater lakes and rivers. As
it turns out variations in spectral sensitivity among species sharing the same
habitat are still only little understood.
Problems in the sensory ecology of Odors and Chemoreception (Section V) are
illustrated by Stefan Schulz, who discusses the structural diversity of arthropod
pheromones and its relation to signaling against a background of chemical noise.
He also emphasizes that it is still hard to extract general rules from the enormous
variety of chemical communication systems. Joop van Loon and Marcel Dicke
draw our attention to the fascinating complexity of the interactions between
herbivorous and carnivorous arthropods and their selected plant species. The
chemical world of the plants is a dominant factor in the lives of these arthropods
(both the herbivores and their predators).The intriguing relationship of specific
phytochemical profiles to chemoreception constitutes one of the major challenges
in the ecology of sensing.
In Hygro- and Thermoreception (Section VI) the interaction between
environmental constraints and sensory specialization are shown to be only little
understood. Most of our knowledge on thermo- and hygroreception comes from
studies on a few insects and a spider. Harald Tichy and Ewald Gingl relate data on
the structural properties of thermosensory sensilla to their response characteristics
and discuss different models that may explain hygroreceptive transduction
mechanisms.
Among the senses alien to humans Magnetic Field and Electroreception
(Section VII) are classical examples. Wolfgang and Roswitha Wiltschko tell us
VII
"design" principles of filiform hairs by asking which effects ecology may have
had on the adaptive evolution of these extremely sensitive mechanosensors in
terrestrial and aquatic habitats, respectively. The question is: what is physically
possible, and which biological solutions do we actually find? Peter Narins then
devotes his contribution to the ways in which vertebrates detect and utilize
vibrational or seismic surface waves to communicate. Finally, taking the lateral
line system as an example, Horst Bleckmann, Joachim Mogdans, and Guido
Dehnhardt emphasize the importance of applying natural and ecologically
meaningful stimulus patterns and noise conditions when striving to fully
understand the specializations of a particular sensory system.
Next is Light and Vision (Section IV), that is the specializations and adaptations
used by animals living in different photic environments. Simon Laughlin points to
the relationship between sensory ecology and the energy budget of a sensory
system. He examines how efficiency can be improved in insect compound eyes by
matching the reception and the processing to the properties of the visual stimuli.
Eric Warrant also concentrates on arthropod compound eyes, which show extreme
adaptability. The author reviews the ways in which this most abundant of all eye
types deals with the intensity and direction of natural illumination and how
compound eye design differs in different types of habitat. In his chapter on the
visual ecology of fish, Ron Douglas concentrates on the adaptation of visual
pigments to different photic environments, ranging from the deep sea, with almost
no daylight at all, to the variable colored waters of freshwater lakes and rivers. As
it turns out variations in spectral sensitivity among species sharing the same
habitat are still only little understood.
Problems in the sensory ecology of Odors and Chemoreception (Section V) are
illustrated by Stefan Schulz, who discusses the structural diversity of arthropod
pheromones and its relation to signaling against a background of chemical noise.
He also emphasizes that it is still hard to extract general rules from the enormous
variety of chemical communication systems. Joop van Loon and Marcel Dicke
draw our attention to the fascinating complexity of the interactions between
herbivorous and carnivorous arthropods and their selected plant species. The
chemical world of the plants is a dominant factor in the lives of these arthropods
(both the herbivores and their predators).The intriguing relationship of specific
phytochemical profiles to chemoreception constitutes one of the major challenges
in the ecology of sensing.
In Hygro- and Thermoreception (Section VI) the interaction between
environmental constraints and sensory specialization are shown to be only little
understood. Most of our knowledge on thermo- and hygroreception comes from
studies on a few insects and a spider. Harald Tichy and Ewald Gingl relate data on
the structural properties of thermosensory sensilla to their response characteristics
and discuss different models that may explain hygroreceptive transduction
mechanisms.
Among the senses alien to humans Magnetic Field and Electroreception
(Section VII) are classical examples. Wolfgang and Roswitha Wiltschko tell us