title: Intraspecific geographic variation in rod and cone visual pigment sensitivity of a parrot, Platycercus elegans.
abstract: Variation in wavelength sensitivity among subspecies is unknown among vertebrates. The parrot Platycercus elegans has extreme plumage variation between subspecies ranging from pale yellow to crimson which, with differences in background colour and light environment between subspecies, makes it a good candidate for the evolution of within-species differences in vision. We report differences in visual pigments between populations of P. elegans from two subspecies, providing the first known support for population and subspecies variation in visual pigments within a vertebrate species; it is also the first instance of intraspecific variation in rod sensitivity within any vertebrate species. Differences in wavelength sensitivity of rods and cones corresponded to geographic differences in plumage colour. Between study populations, visual pigments varied but not oil droplets. Adaptive functions for the visual pigment differences are untested but they could cause divergence in behaviours associated with colour as well as in dim light, and provide insights into the role of senses in divergence and speciation.
authors.affiliation: Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Knott
authors.affiliation: Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
authors.forename: Mathew L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.affiliation: Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
authors.forename: Raoul F H
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Ribot
authors.affiliation: Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Endler
authors.affiliation: Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew T D
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005843:Geography; D066292:Lipid Droplets / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D010311:Parrots / Q000378:metabolism*; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000378:metabolism*; D017948:Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D012168:Retinal Pigments