image: Cues to second-order motion enable mantises to detect prey and subsequently capture them using stereoscopic vision. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Newcastle University, UK.
A study explores how praying mantises detect motion during prey capture. Animals possess the ability to detect both first-order and second-order motion. The former involves tracking changes in luminance over time and is sufficient in most cases to detect object motion. The evolutionary purpose of second-order motion tracking, which involves higher-order visual statistics, is unclear. Vivek Nityananda and colleagues exposed praying mantises to various kinds of motion, including first-order and second-order motion, by using white and black dots on a gray background. The authors measured the strike response of the mantises to determine whether the experimental motion elicited prey detection and capture using stereoscopic vision. The authors report that stereoscopic vision did not depend on motion of the figure, whereas prey detection did. Prey detection requires the detection of second-order motion and enables object tracking even when objects match the luminance of the background. Depth perception, using stereoscopic vision, can subsequently be used to determine the distance to the prey. According to the authors, the findings suggest that second-order motion detection supports stereoscopic vision and target tracking in praying mantises and may have evolved to help locate camouflaged prey.
Article #19-12310: "Second-order cues to figure motion enable object detection during prey capture by praying mantises," by Vivek Nityananda, James O'Keeffe, Diana Umeton, Adam Simmons, Jenny CA Read.
MEDIA CONTACT: Vivek Nityananda, Newcastle University, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +441912086246, +447552684667; e-mail: vivek.nityananda@newcastle.ac.uk
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences