Abstract
The light environments of natural water sources have specific characteristics. For the majority of aquatic organisms, vision is crucial for predation, hiding from predators, communicating information, and reproduction. Electroretinography (ERG) is a diagnostic method used for assessing visual function. An electroretinogram records the comprehensive potential response of retinal cells under light stimuli and divides it into several components. Unique wave components are derived from different retinal cells, thus retinal function can be determined by analyzing these components. This review provides an overview of the milestones of ERG technology, describing how ERG is used to study visual sensitivity (e.g., spectral sensitivity, luminous sensitivity, and temporal resolution) of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other aquatic organisms (seals, sea lions, sea turtles, horseshoe crabs, and jellyfish). In addition, it describes the correlations between visual sensitivity and habitat, the variation of visual sensitivity as a function of individual growth, and the diel cycle changes of visual sensitivity. Efforts to identify the visual sensitivity of different aquatic organisms are vital to understanding the environmental plasticity of biological evolution and for directing aquaculture, marine fishery, and ecosystem management.
Highlights
Reviewed by: Dong Zhang, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, China Weiqun Lu, Shanghai Ocean University, China
This review provides an overview of the milestones of ERG technology, describing how ERG is used to study visual sensitivity of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other aquatic organisms
The b-wave amplitude of an electroretinogram indicates the response of the retina to a variety of light stimuli, and luminous sensitivities can be expressed by two indicators: K50 [the irradiance required to generate 50% of the peak amplitude (Vmax)] and dynamic range
Summary
The retina is an important tissue that perceives external optical information and converts it to visual information. Holmgren (1865) was the first researcher to use a galvanometer to connect electrodes to the front and rear of the eyeball He was able to measure a rapid current change when an eyeball isolated from a frog was subjected to light stimuli, with the current appearing positive on the corneal side. Through subsequent experiments, Holmgren (1870), found that after an eyeball isolated from an animal was transversely cut, the potential difference was measurable from the vitreous side to the posterior sclera, and a change in potential occurred during light stimuli This result indicated that the retina was the source of the electrostatic potential of the eye. Tungsten halogen lamps (Weber, 1982), xenon lamps (Karita et al, 1973; Clark, 1975; King-Smith and Cronin, 1996), and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) (Vetter et al, 2019; Hasenei et al, 2020) are the main light sources used in ERG studies, and the light intensity and wavelength range are controlled by neutral filters and interference filters
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