The interplay of directional information provided by unpolarised and polarised light in the heading direction network of the diurnal dung beetle Kheper lamarcki
Abstract
The sun is the most prominent source of directional information in the heading direction network of the diurnal, ball-rolling dung beetle Kheper lamarcki. If this celestial body is occluded from the beetle's field of view, the distribution of the relative weight between the directional cues that remain shifts in favour of the celestial pattern of polarised light. In this study, we continue to explore the interplay of the sun and polarisation pattern as directional cues in the heading direction network of K. lamarcki. By systematically altering the intensity and degree of the two cues, we effectively change the relative reliability as they appear to the dung beetle. The response of the beetle to these modifications allows us to closely examine how the weighting relationship of these two sources of directional information is influenced and altered in the heading direction network of the beetle. We conclude that the process by which K. lamarcki relies on directional information is very likely done based on Bayesian reasoning, where directional information conveying the highest certainty at a particular moment is afforded the greatest weight.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1242/jeb.243734
Entities
People
- Ayşe Yılmaz
- Claudia Tocco
- Gregor Belušič
- James J Foster
- Lana Khaldy
- Marcus J. Byrne
- Marie Dacke
- Yakir L Gagnon
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- European Research Council
- Lund University
- Swedish Research Council
- University of Ljubljana
- University of Würzburg
- University of the Witwatersrand