La pulce (della sabbia) e la luce
Year: 2016
Authors: Ugolini A., Ciofini A., Mercatelli L.
Autors Affiliation: Università degli Studi di Firenze; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Firenze
Abstract: The sandhopper Talitrus saltator is known to use several cues to return to the band of damp sand of the beach where it lives buried during the day to avoid dehydration. It was demonstrated that this species can employ astronomical references such as the sun and the moon even though their use requires compensation for their azimuthal variations. The skylight gradient of luminance is also used; it plays a role even in the discrimination between the sun and the moon. The vision of the landscape gives useful directional information mostly because of the spectral differences between the sea (blue) and the land (mostly green). Further investigations are required to establish the role of other
factors such as the celestial spectral gradient.
Journal/Review: JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS
KeyWords: sandhopper; talitrus; pulce acqua