The ecology of the visual pigments of snappers (Lutjanidae) on the Great Barrier Reef |
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Authors: | J. N. Lythgoe W. R. A. Muntz J. C. Partridge J. Shand D. McB. Williams |
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Affiliation: | (1) School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, BS8 1UG Bristol, UK;(2) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Monash University, 3168 Clayton, Victoria, Australia;(3) Department of Marine Biology, James Cook University, 4811 Towns ville, Queensland, Australia;(4) Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, 4810 Townsville MC, Queensland, Australia |
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Abstract: | The visual pigments in the retinal photoreceptors of 12 species of snappers of the genus Lutjanus (Teleostei; Perciformes; Lutjanidae) were measured by microspectrophotometry. All the species were caught on the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) but differ in the colour of the water in which they live. Some live in the clear blue water of the outer reef, some in the greener water of the middle and inshore reefs and some in the more heavily stained mangrove and estuarine water. All the species had double cones, each member of the pair containing a different visual pigment. Using Baker's and Smith's (1982) model to predict the spectral distribution of ambient light from chlorophyll and dissolved organic matter it was found that the absorption spectra of the visual pigments in the double cones were close to those that confer the maximum sensitivity in the different water types. Single cones contained a blue or violet-sensitive visual pigment. The visual pigments in the rods showed little variation, their wavelength of maximum absorption always being in the region 489–502 nm.Abbreviations DOC dissolved organic carbon - DOM dissolved organic material - MSP microspectrophotometrydeceased |
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Keywords: | Ecology Great Barrier Reef Lutjanidae Microspectrophotometry Visual pigments |
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