Among major vertebrate groups, anurans are understudied with regards to their visual systems and how they function. This study sampled North American anurans representing diverse evolutionary and life histories and which likely possess visual systems adapted to meet different ecological needs. Using standard molecular techniques, sequences were obtained for four opsins—the protein component of visual pigments—expressed in anuran retinas. Amino acid sequences of the genes RH1, LWS, SWS1, and SWS2 were compared across taxa to identify variable sites, as such variation can shift the spectral sensitivity of visual pigments and thus alter dim-light and color vision. Some of the amino acid changes observed are known to tune spectral sensitivity in other vertebrates, and tests for positive selection revealed additional candidate tuning sites in LWS. The observed variation cannot fully be explained by evolutionary relationships among species. Taken together, results suggest that other factors may be driving changes to anuran visual systems.
","abstract_html":"<p>Among major vertebrate groups, anurans are understudied with regards to their visual systems and how they function. This study sampled North American anurans representing diverse evolutionary and life histories and which likely possess visual systems adapted to meet different ecological needs. Using standard molecular techniques, sequences were obtained for four opsins—the protein component of visual pigments—expressed in anuran retinas. Amino acid sequences of the genes RH1, LWS, SWS1, and SWS2 were compared across taxa to identify variable sites, as such variation can shift the spectral sensitivity of visual pigments and thus alter dim-light and color vision. Some of the amino acid changes observed are known to tune spectral sensitivity in other vertebrates, and tests for positive selection revealed additional candidate tuning sites in LWS. The observed variation cannot fully be explained by evolutionary relationships among species. Taken together, results suggest that other factors may be driving changes to anuran visual systems.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Perez, Leah"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science - Biology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Matthew Kwiatkowski","Dr. Jennifer Gumm","Dr. Beatrice Clack"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:22Z","subjects":["Anura","amphibian","vision","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/244","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Matthew Kwiatkowski","Dr. Jennifer Gumm","Dr. Beatrice Clack"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Perez, Leah"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-03-31T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science - Biology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Anura","amphibian","vision","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/244"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Among major vertebrate groups, anurans are understudied with regards to their visual systems and how they function. This study sampled North American anurans representing diverse evolutionary and life histories and which likely possess visual systems adapted to meet different ecological needs. Using standard molecular techniques, sequences were obtained for four opsins—the protein component of visual pigments—expressed in anuran retinas. Amino acid sequences of the genes RH1, LWS, SWS1, and SWS2 were compared across taxa to identify variable sites, as such variation can shift the spectral sensitivity of visual pigments and thus alter dim-light and color vision. Some of the amino acid changes observed are known to tune spectral sensitivity in other vertebrates, and tests for positive selection revealed additional candidate tuning sites in LWS. The observed variation cannot fully be explained by evolutionary relationships among species. Taken together, results suggest that other factors may be driving changes to anuran visual systems.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Visual Opsin Diversity in Anurans"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Matthew Kwiatkowski","Dr. Jennifer Gumm","Dr. Beatrice Clack"],"dc:creator":["Perez, Leah"],"dc:date.available":["2023-03-31T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Among major vertebrate groups, anurans are understudied with regards to their visual systems and how they function. This study sampled North American anurans representing diverse evolutionary and life histories and which likely possess visual systems adapted to meet different ecological needs. Using standard molecular techniques, sequences were obtained for four opsins—the protein component of visual pigments—expressed in anuran retinas. Amino acid sequences of the genes RH1, LWS, SWS1, and SWS2 were compared across taxa to identify variable sites, as such variation can shift the spectral sensitivity of visual pigments and thus alter dim-light and color vision. Some of the amino acid changes observed are known to tune spectral sensitivity in other vertebrates, and tests for positive selection revealed additional candidate tuning sites in LWS. The observed variation cannot fully be explained by evolutionary relationships among species. Taken together, results suggest that other factors may be driving changes to anuran visual systems.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/244"],"dc:subject":["Anura","amphibian","vision","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"dc:title":["Visual Opsin Diversity in Anurans"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science - Biology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:22Z"}