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Evolutionary variation in the expression of phenotypically plastic color vision in Caribbean mantis shrimps, genus Neogonodactylus

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Many animals have color vision systems that are well suited to their local environments. Changes in color vision can occur over long periods (evolutionary time), or over relatively short periods such as during development. A select few animals, including stomatopod crustaceans, are able to adjust their systems of color vision directly in response to varying environmental stimuli. Recently, it has been shown that juveniles of some stomatopod species that inhabit a range of depths can spectrally tune their color vision to local light conditions through spectral changes in filters contained in specialized photoreceptors. The present study quantifies the potential for spectral tuning in adults of three species of Caribbean Neogonodactylus stomatopods that differ in their depth ranges to assess how ecology and evolutionary history influence the expression of phenotypically plastic color vision in adult stomatopods. After 12 weeks in either a full-spectrum “white” or a narrow-spectrum “blue” light treatment, each of the three species evidenced distinctive tuning abilities with respect to the light environment that could be related to its natural depth range. A molecular phylogeny generated using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase C subunit 1 (CO-1) was used to determine whether tuning abilities were phylogenetically or ecologically constrained. Although the sister taxa Neogonodactylus wennerae and N. bredini both exhibited spectral tuning, their ecology (i.e. preferred depth range) strongly influenced the expression of the phenotypically plastic color vision trait. Our results indicate that adult stomatopods have evolved the ability to undergo habitat-specific spectral tuning, allowing rapid facultative physiological modification to suit ecological constraints.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Lucy Newman, James Marquez, and the staff at Bermuda Biological Station for facilitating field collections. We thank Roy Caldwell for sharing his extensive knowledge of stomatopod behavior and ecology. This research was funded partially by NSF grant (IBN-0235820) to TWC and Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid to AGC and by the National Coral Reef Institute through a subaward to PHB and RL Caldwell through the NOAA Coastal Ocean Program under award #NA16OA2413, to Nova Southeastern University. This manuscript benefited from the comments of anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, 21250, USA

    Alexander G. Cheroske & Thomas W. Cronin

  2. Boston University, Boston University Marine Program, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA

    Paul H. Barber

  3. Department of Life Sciences, Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Drive, Moorpark, CA, 93021, USA

    Alexander G. Cheroske

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  1. Alexander G. Cheroske
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  2. Paul H. Barber
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  3. Thomas W. Cronin
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Correspondence to Alexander G. Cheroske.

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Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin

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Cheroske, A.G., Barber, P.H. & Cronin, T.W. Evolutionary variation in the expression of phenotypically plastic color vision in Caribbean mantis shrimps, genus Neogonodactylus . Mar Biol 150, 213–220 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-006-0313-5

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