Journal
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Volume 4, Issue 19, Pages 3736-3745Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1194
Keywords
Avian vision; ecology; habitat use; light environment; perception
Categories
Funding
- Fundacion BBVA grant
- Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (Spain) [CGL2011-26318]
- Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) [2012/20468-4]
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [12/20468-4] Funding Source: FAPESP
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Eye size shows a large degree of variation among species, even after correcting for body size. In birds, relatively larger eyes have been linked to predation risk, capture of mobile prey, and nocturnal habits. Relatively larger eyes enhance visual acuity and also allow birds to forage and communicate in low-light situations. Complex habitats such as tropical rain forests provide a mosaic of diverse lighting conditions, including differences among forest strata and at different distances from the forest edge. We examined in an Amazonian forest bird community whether microhabitat occupancy (defined by edge avoidance and forest stratum) was a predictor of relative eye size. We found that relative eye size increased with edge avoidance, but did not differ according to forest stratum. Nevertheless, the relationship between edge avoidance and relative eye size showed a nonsignificant positive trend for species that inhabit lower forest strata. Our analysis shows that birds that avoid forest edges have larger eyes than those living in lighter parts. We expect that this adaptation may allow birds to increase their active daily period in dim areas of the forest. The pattern that we found raises the question of what factors may limit the evolution of large eyes.
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