TY - JOUR
TI - Do Raptors React to Ultraviolet Light?
AU - Hunt, W
AU - McClure, C
AU - Allison, T
T2 - Journal of Raptor Research
AB - Birds are renowned for their excellent vision, including the sensitivity of many species to ultraviolet light (UV; Birkhead 2012). Bird color vision is mediated by four single-cone types, one of which houses SWS1 pigments that determine whether a species is sensitive to UV (<400 nm in wavelength) or only to longer wavelengths (reviewed by Hart 2001). Field observations led to the proposition that certain raptors might use the UV reflectance of vole urine to aid in hunting (Viitala et al. 1995, Koivula and Viitala 1999), although others have maintained that differences between UV reflectance of vole urine and underlying substrates were likely indistinguishable (Lind et al. 2013). Genetic studies by Odeen and Hastad (2003) suggested that raptors generally lacked UV-sensitivity, and most recently, sequencing of a Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) genome by Doyle et al. (2014) revealed genes indicating sensitivity to the violet spectrum and not to the near-ultraviolet part of the spectrum. In field tests of the efficacy of UV reflectance in reducing the incidence of raptor collisions with wind turbine blades, Young et al. (2003) found no effect of blades painted with UV reflective paint on mortality rates. A remaining question regarding the potential of UV light to deter raptors from entering hazardous areas was their possible sensitivity to projected, rather than reflected, UV light. Here we recount observations made during exploratory field tests of the potential of projected UV light to elicit an avoidance response in a small sample of Golden Eagles and other raptors.
DA - 2015/01//
PY - 2015
VL - 49
IS - 4
SP - 342
EP - 343
UR - https://meridian.allenpress.com/rapt/article-abstract/49/3/342/435389/Do-Raptors-React-to-Ultraviolet-Light
DO - 10.3356/JRR-14-71.1
LA - English
KW - Lighting
KW - Birds
KW - Raptors
ER -