Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: ) is the only mammal with a color-shifting tapetum lucidum and the only ruminant with a lichen-dominated diet. These puzzling traits coexist with yet another enigma--ocular media that transmit up to 60% of ultraviolet (UV) light, enough to excite the cones responsible for color vision. It is unclear why any day-active circum-Arctic mammal would benefit from UV visual sensitivity, but it could improve detection of UV-absorbing lichens against a background of UV-reflecting snows, especially during the extended twilight hours of winter. To explore this idea and advance our understanding of reindeer visual ecology, we recorded the reflectance spectra of several ground-growing (terricolous), shrubby (fruticose) lichens in the diets of reindeer living in Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.
Source: i-Perception
Institutions: Dartmouth College, University of St Andrews
Language: English
Subfield: Urology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $659
OpenAlex ID: W4389818843