Visual Acuity
BrianF.
Posted 8/17/2015 8:43 PM (#780869)
Subject: Visual Acuity




Posts: 284


Location: Eagan, MN
All things being equal, how good is a musky's visual acuity relative to other freshwater fish? A brook trout for example.

Brian

Edited by BrianF. 8/18/2015 1:09 PM
sworrall
Posted 8/17/2015 10:13 PM (#780889 - in reply to #780869)
Subject: Re: Visual Acquity





Posts: 32886


Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Trout have the ability to focus reasonably well on objects close and not close at the same time. Muksies don't due to a different eye structure, and are 'near sighted' to a fault. They can 'see' color well when it's available in the water column and they are in cone vision mode. The muskie's eye is also like a 35mm camera lens open all the time, so light sensitivity can be an issue.

Muskies look basically up all the time, and only have stereoscopic vision perceiving objects a surprising distance in front of their nose. (Think depth perception here)

A friend of mine determined that muskies may be able to see a measure in the UV spectrum due to a triangle shaped structure in the Muskie's eye present in other critter's eyes that in theory allows them to see in that spectrum. Since he was working on that, I have seen zero on that subject.
BrianF.
Posted 8/18/2015 1:23 PM (#780973 - in reply to #780869)
Subject: Re: Visual Acuity




Posts: 284


Location: Eagan, MN
There is some fascinating stuff available on line about this subject. For example:
*The larger the fish, the greater the visual acuity.
*In optimal conditions, fish can see a 4" object up to 50 meters away.
*Water temperature can influence visual acuity.
*The part of the eye that has concentrated photoreceptors for color faces up, while the part of the eye with concentrated photoreceptors for light faces down.
*Preferential eye use has been seen in some fish; the right eye when careful examination is required prior to a response and the left eye to check whether an identical object has been seen before.

Whether these pertain to muskies is anyone's guess as the species was not one of the ones included in the studies. If they do apply to muskies, what implications are there for anglers wanting to bring their game to the next level??

Brian

Edited by BrianF. 8/18/2015 1:55 PM
sworrall
Posted 8/18/2015 2:34 PM (#780980 - in reply to #780973)
Subject: Re: Visual Acuity





Posts: 32886


Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin
BrianF. - 8/18/2015 1:23 PM

There is some fascinating stuff available on line about this subject. For example:
*The larger the fish, the greater the visual acuity.(not sure, but the larger the eye, the more light can enter)
*In optimal conditions, fish can see a 4" object up to 50 meters away. (it's very rare anything can be seen more than a few feet away due to particulate and light availability)
*Water temperature can influence visual acuity. (not an issue with Muskies)
*The part of the eye that has concentrated photoreceptors for color faces up, while the part of the eye with concentrated photoreceptors for light faces down. (I do not think this applies with muskies)
*Preferential eye use has been seen in some fish; the right eye when careful examination is required prior to a response and the left eye to check whether an identical object has been seen before. (not an issue with muskies; eye placement and stereo vision, they are basically sight feeders and respond best to objects in the stereoscopic field of view)

Whether these pertain to muskies is anyone's guess as the species was not one of the ones included in the studies. If they do apply to muskies, what implications are there for anglers wanting to bring their game to the next level??

Brian