Light and diel vertical migration: spectral sensitivity and light avoidance by Mysis relicta

Abstract

Ambient light levels determine the extent of diel vertical migration of many species including mysid shrimps. Light levels perceived by an organism depend on the intensity of light at the surface, the extinction of light through the water, and the sensitivity of the organism's light receptors. Each of these processes has spectral characteristics that should be taken into account when measuring perceived light levels. We used microspectrophotometry to determine that Mysis relicta has a single pigment with the characteristics of rhodopsin based on vitamin A1 and a peak sensitivity of 520 nm. Similar to the use of the lux (scaled to human vision), we give ambient light levels scaled to the mysid's visual spectrum in mylux units. Mysid distributions were observed with acoustics around two artificial light sources in Cayuga Lake, New York. Mysids avoided light levels of 3.4 × 10-7 to 2.1 × 10-6 mylux. Similar light levels limited their vertical distributions during the night in Lake Ontario and during the day in Cayuga Lake. Of standard light sensors available, lux meters are more appropriate than photosynthetically active radiation meters for determining light levels perceived by mysids.