Eyes wide shut: the impact of dim-light vision on neural investment in marine teleosts

Understanding how organismal design evolves in response to environmental challenges is a central goal of evolutionary biology. In particular, assessing the extent to which environmental requirements drive general design features among distantly related groups is a major research question. The visual system is a critical sensory apparatus that evolves in response to changing light regimes. In vertebrates, the optic tectum is the primary visual processing center of the brain, and yet it is unclear how, or whether this structure evolves while lineages adapt to changes in photic environment. On one hand, dim‐light adaptation is associated with larger eyes and enhanced light‐gathering power that could require larger information processing capacity. On the other hand, dim‐light vision may evolve to maximize light sensitivity at the cost of acuity and color sensitivity, which could require less processing power. Here, we use X‐ray microtomography and phylogenetic comparative methods to examine...解析有机体构型如何响应环境挑战而演化，是进化生物学的核心研究目标。具体而言，探究环境需求在多大程度上驱动远缘类群形成共性构型特征，是一项重要的研究课题。视觉系统是关键的感觉器官，其演化过程响应光照环境的动态变化。在脊椎动物中，视顶盖（optic tectum）是大脑的主要视觉处理中枢，但目前尚不清楚，当谱系适应光环境（photic environment）变化时，该结构如何演化，甚至是否会发生演化。一方面，弱光适应常伴随眼球体积增大与聚光能力提升，这可能需要更强的信息处理能力；另一方面，弱光视觉的演化可能以牺牲视敏度与色觉敏感性为代价，以最大化光线捕获效率，此时所需的信息处理能力则相对更低。本研究采用X射线显微计算机断层扫描（X-ray microtomography）与系统发育比较方法（phylogenetic comparative methods），对……展开研究。