The content explores how the division of resources between an eye's optical system and photoreceptor array influences the eye's performance, efficiency, and design. The key insights are:
The author introduces a new measure of cost, specific volume, which relates the investments made in optics and photoreceptor array to image quality via optical, physiological, and geometrical constraints. This allows modeling of performance across the morphospace of eyes with the same total cost.
The models show that efficiently configured diurnal apposition eyes should invest heavily in deep photoreceptor arrays with long rhabdomeres/rhabdoms, and match investments in optics and photoreceptor arrays so that rhabdom(ere) length increases with spatial resolution. Analysis of published data confirms these trends in fast-flying diurnal insects.
A simple eye model shows that when optimized for efficiency, their rhabdomeres are much shorter than apposition eyes', but they still invest heavily in photoreceptor arrays due to the impact of photoreceptor energy costs.
The analysis demonstrates that the cost of photoreceptor arrays is as significant as the cost of optics in both simple and apposition eyes when configured for maximum efficiency. Matching investments in optics and photoreceptors to increase efficiency is an important principle of eye design.
The simple eye model is found to be 1-2 orders of magnitude more efficient at gathering information than an apposition eye of the same total cost.
לשפה אחרת
מתוכן המקור
biorxiv.org
תובנות מפתח מזוקקות מ:
by Heras,F. J. ... ב- www.biorxiv.org 01-24-2024
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.21.576511v1שאלות מעמיקות