Computer-animated stimuli to measure motionsensitivity： constraints on signal design in theJacky dragon
作者机构：SUNY Empire State College Metropolitan Center 325 Hudson Street New York NY 10013-1005 USA Department of Biological Sciences Florida International University 3000 Northeast 151 St North Miami FL 33181 USA School of Psychology University of Newcastle 10 Chittaway Road Ourimbah New South Wales 2258Australia
出 版 物：《Current Zoology》 (动物学报（英文版）)
年 卷 期：2017年第63卷第1期
页 面：75-84页
核心收录：
学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 07[理学] 0905[农学-畜牧学] 0906[农学-兽医学] 09[农学]
基 金：supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Macquarie University Postgraduate Psychology and CISAB Awards [to K.L.W. and D.B.] the SUNY Empire State College Faculty Development Award [to K.L.W.]
主 题：Amphibolurus muricatus, Jacky dragon, motion sensitivity, random-dot kinematograms, signal evolution, virtualstimuli.
摘 要：Identifying perceptual thresholds is critical for understanding the mechanisms that underlie signalevolution. Using computer-animated stimuli, we examined visual speed sensitivity in the Jackydragon Amphibolurus muricatus, a species that makes extensive use of rapid motor patterns in so-cial communication. First, focal lizards were tested in discrimination trials using random-dot kine-matograms displaying combinations of speed, coherence, and direction. Second, we measuredsubject lizards＇ ability to predict the appearance of a secondary reinforcer （1 of 3 differentcomputer-generated animations of invertebrates： cricket, spider, and mite） based on the directionof movement of a field of drifting dots by following a set of behavioural responses （e.g., orientingresponse, latency to respond） to our virtual stimuli. We found an effect of both speed and coher-ence, as well as an interaction between these 2 factors on the perception of moving ***, our results showed that Jacky dragons have acute sensitivity to high speeds. We then em-ployed an optic flow analysis to match the performance to ecologically relevant motion. Our resultssuggest that the Jacky dragon visual system may have been shaped to detect fast motion. Thispre-existing sensitivity may have constrained the evolution of conspecific displays. In contrast,Jacky dragons may have difficulty in detecting the movement of ambush predators, such as snakesand of some invertebrate prey. Our study also demonstrates the potential of the computer-animated stimuli technique for conducting nonintrusive tests to explore motion range and sensitiv-ity in a visually mediated species.
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