Cited by 202Physiological and biochemical adaptationsVisual perception and processing mechanismsAnimal Behavior and Reproduction

Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information

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Healy, Kevin, McNally, Luke, Ruxton, Graeme D., Cooper, Natalie, Jackson, Andrew L.·2013·Animal Behaviour

Abstract

Body size and metabolic rate both fundamentally constrain how species interact with their environment, and hence ultimately affect their niche. While many mechanisms leading to these constraints have been explored, their effects on the resolution at which temporal information is perceived have been largely overlooked. The visual system acts as a gateway to the dynamic environment and the relative resolution at which organisms are able to acquire and process visual information is likely to restrict their ability to interact with events around them. As both smaller size and higher metabolic rates should facilitate rapid behavioural responses, we hypothesized that these traits would favour perception of temporal change over finer timescales. Using critical flicker fusion frequency, the lowest frequency of flashing at which a flickering light source is perceived as constant, as a measure of the maximum rate of temporal information processing in the visual system, we carried out a phylogenetic comparative analysis of a wide range of vertebrates that supported this hypothesis. Our results have implications for the evolution of signalling systems and predator-prey interactions, and, combined with the strong influence that both body mass and metabolism have on a species' ecological niche, suggest that time perception may constitute an important and overlooked dimension of niche differentiation.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.06.018

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  • Peahens should be able to visually resolve the iridescence of the loose barbs moving at 20-30 Hz, given that all bird species studied to date can resolve flicker at much higher rates.

    “peahens should be able to visually resolve the iridescence of the loose barbs moving at 20–30 Hz, given that all bird species studied to date can resolve flicker at much higher rates [45].”

    From Biomechanics of the Peacock’s Display: How Feather Structure and Resonance Influence Multimodal Signaling (2016) · cites this paper as [45]

    The Methods (Data Collection; page unavailable) describe flicker-fusion measurements in birds, including behavioural tests in domestic chickens, so the paper supports the general premise that avian temporal resolution has been studied. The retrieved passages do not establish that every bird species studied resolves flicker well above 20–30 Hz, or that peahens can resolve the iridescence of moving barbs. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. Autrum H. Electrophysiological analysis of the visual systems in insects Experimental Cell Research 14 Supplement 5 1958 426 439 13586303
  2. Biewener A.A. Animal Locomotion 2003 Oxford University Press Oxford
  3. Eisenberg J.F. The Mammalian Radiations 1981 Athlone Press London
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  5. Hurlburt G.R. Relative brain size in recent and fossil amniotes: determination and interpretation Ph.D. thesis 1996 University of Toronto
  6. Letourneur Y. Kulbicki M. Labrosse P. Length-weight relationships of fish from coral reefs and lagoons of New Caledonia, southwestern Pacific Ocean: an update Naga: International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management Quarterly 21 1998 39 46

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Authors
Healy, K., McNally, L., Ruxton, G. D., Cooper, N., & Jackson, A. L.
Affiliations
  • Trinity College Dublin (IE)
  • Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution (GB)
  • University of St Andrews (GB)
Corresponding author
Healy, Kevin
Venue
Animal Behaviour
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-10
Volume
86
Issue
4
Pages
685-696
ISSN
0003-3472 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2144141797
Cited by
202
References
145
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 4
FWCI
19.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Animal Behaviour (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • St Andrews Research Repository (St Andrews Research Repository) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Higher Education Authority
  • European Regional Development Fund
  • Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution (095831)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
Keywords
metabolic rate, body size, body mass, critical flicker frequency, temporal processing, time perception, visual system, vertebrates, phylogenetic comparative analysis, niche differentiation, predator-prey interactions

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