The ecological drivers and evolutionary consequences of visual performance

Despite decades of research on eye design, we still do not have understand the key selective drivers of variation in eye morphology.

This is because research has often been limited to between-species comparisons focusing on a few selective agents and without experimental tests of the costs and benefits of different eye designs.

In this proposal, I will; explore the form and function of variation in eye size within species and provide direct experimental evidence for the costs and benefits of evolving eyes with different size.

In particular, I will; i) measure how eyes evolve in response to different ecological pressures, including predation risk, ii) establish how eye size translate into variation in visual performance and fitness, and iii) reveal the trade-offs associated with evolving larger eyes.

I take advantage of a unique system, where populations of Bahamas mosquitofish have been subject to divergent selection and show associated variation in eye morphology. Moreover, I will use artificial selection to experimentally test the costs and benefits of eye-size variation.

Coupled with sophisticated tools, including computer-based eye tracking and immersive virtual environments to quantify variation in visual performance, this project will bring genuine insights into the processes and mechanisms underlying variation in visual system design.

The work will be of interest to, and takes inspiration from, the fields of animal behaviour, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology.