Does the photoluminescence of rat fur influence interactions in the field?

Linda M. Reinhold; David T. Wilson; Tasmin L. Rymer

doi:10.1071/ZO23021

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Contents Vol 71(2)

Does the photoluminescence of rat fur influence interactions in the field?

Linda M. Reinhold

^A ^* , David T. Wilson

^B and Tasmin L. Rymer

^A ^C ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia.

^B Centre for Molecular Therapeutics, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld 4878, Australia.

^C Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: linda.reinhold@my.jcu.edu.au, tasmin.rymer@jcu.edu.au

Handling Editor: Laura Wilson

Australian Journal of Zoology 71, ZO23021 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO23021

Submitted: 25 May 2023 Accepted: 12 December 2023 Published: 9 January 2024

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC)

Abstract

While the photoluminescence of mammal fur is widespread, any potential function based on its optical properties remains speculative. Using paired photoluminescent and non-photoluminescent real-fur rat models in a field experiment, we aimed to test whether nocturnal vertebrates reacted differently to blueish-white photoluminescent fur than to non-photoluminescent fur. Remote cameras were set out in three different habitats (farmland, rainforest and woodland) in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia, over three full moon and three new moon phases. We recorded what species interacted with the models and counted the number of interactions with each model to calculate pair-wise differences of interactions with photoluminescent and non-photoluminescent models. No animal group (marsupial, placental mammal or avian) showed a preference for either model, on either new or full moon, suggesting that they either cannot detect a difference, or that preference is not based on photoluminescent properties. These findings do not support a hypothesis of selective pressure from nocturnal vertebrates acting on the trait of blueish-white photoluminescence in mammal fur.

Keywords: fluorescence, hair, mammal, moon, nocturnal, phosphorescence, terrestrial, visual function.

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