IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v401y1999i6752d10.1038_46773.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Built-in polarizers form part of a compass organ in spiders

Author

Listed:
  • M. Dacke

    (University of Lund)

  • D.-E. Nilsson

    (University of Lund)

  • E. J. Warrant

    (University of Lund)

  • A. D. Blest

    (Vision Group, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University
    University of Canterbury)

  • M. F. Land

    (School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex)

  • D. C. O'Carroll

    (Box 351800, University of Washington)

Abstract

Some insects and vertebrates use the pattern of polarized light in the sky as an optical compass1,2,3,4,5. Only a small section of clear sky needs to be visible for bees and ants to obtain a compass bearing for accurate navigation5,6. The receptors involved in the polarization compass are confined to a small part of the retina, and the eyes are built predominantly for other visual tasks7. Here we report the discovery of a unique compass organ in the spider Drassodes cupreus, where a pair of specialized secondary eyes cooperate to analyse skylight polarization. These eyes do not form images, but use a built-in polarization filter to determine precisely the direction of polarization. Measurements using a model eye indicate that the compass organ is best suited for navigation at dusk and dawn. Behavioural experiments show that the spiders are primarily active after sunset and that they use polarization cues to find their way back to the nest after foraging trips. A similar organization of the secondary eyes in several spider families indicates that such compass organs may not be an isolated phenomenon.

Suggested Citation

  • M. Dacke & D.-E. Nilsson & E. J. Warrant & A. D. Blest & M. F. Land & D. C. O'Carroll, 1999. "Built-in polarizers form part of a compass organ in spiders," Nature, Nature, vol. 401(6752), pages 470-473, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:401:y:1999:i:6752:d:10.1038_46773
    DOI: 10.1038/46773
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/46773
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/46773?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:401:y:1999:i:6752:d:10.1038_46773. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.