Variable vision in variable environments: the visual system of an invasive cichlid (Cichla monoculus ) in Lake Gatun, Panama

The Journal of Experimental Biology
Daniel Escobar-CamachoKaren Carleton

Abstract

An adaptive visual system is essential for organisms inhabiting new or changing light environments. The Panama Canal exhibits such variable environments owing to its anthropogenic origin and current human activities. Within the Panama Canal, Lake Gatun harbors several exotic fish species including the invasive peacock bass (Cichla monoculus), a predatory Amazonian cichlid. In this research, through spectral measurements and molecular and physiological experiments, we studied the visual system of C. monoculus and its adaptive capabilities. Our results suggest that (1) Lake Gatun is a highly variable environment, where light transmission changes throughout the canal waterway, and that (2) C. monoculus has several visual adaptations suited for this red-shifted light environment. Cichla monoculus filters short wavelengths (∼400 nm) from the environment through its ocular media and tunes its visual sensitivities to the available light through opsin gene expression. More importantly, based on shifts in spectral sensitivities of photoreceptors alone, and on transcriptome analysis, C. monoculus exhibits extreme intraspecific variation in the use of vitamin A1/A2 chromophore in their photoreceptors. Fish living in turbid water had highe...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 25, 2020·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Karen L CarletonN Justin Marshall
Nov 19, 2020·Journal of Fish Biology·Gustavo Henrique Soares GuedesFrancisco Gerson Araújo
Nov 19, 2020·Heliyon·Shantika Maylana SastraprawiraBryan Raveen Nelson
Aug 6, 2021·Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology·Zuzana MusilovaFabio Cortesi

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