Reindeer eyes seasonally adapt to ozone-blue Arctic twilight by tuning a photonic tapetum lucidum.

Abstract

Reindeer are the only mammal known to seasonally adapt their eyes to the extremely blue colour of the extended twilight that occupies a large part of the winter 24 h cycle in their Arctic habitat. We describe the atmospheric phenomenon that results in this extreme spectral change in light environment. Reflectance spectroscopy is used to characterize the photonic nanostructure that generates the reflective region of the tapetum lucidum behind the retina. A model is proposed to explain the reversible reformatting of the reflector by seasonal changes in the volume of interstitial fluid within the two-dimensional photonic crystal of parallel collagen fibrils. This model is tested by allowing slow evaporation of the fluid from both summer and winter tapetum surfaces while monitoring changes in the reflectance spectrum. Coupled variations in the spacing and the degree of order of the fibril packing can transform the typical gold-turquoise colour of such a tapetal reflector to a deep blue that matches the peak spectral irradiance of twilight. The mechanism we describe might be applied by other animals with similar tapeta that experience prolonged changes in light environment.