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Couldn't you say that any plant that orients itself towards the sun (e.g. sunflower) can detect light without eyes?
by hamburga 7y ago
Couldn't you say that any plant that orients itself towards the sun (e.g. sunflower) can detect light without eyes?
- BurningFrog 7y agoYou could argue photosynthesis is a crude form of vision.
- jpeanuts 7y agoIndeed, it seems like a pretty subtle distinction. Given sufficiently bright light, sunflowers would certainly pass the behavioral experiment done here (which is very nicely summarized in Figure 1 of the paper). The distinction must be in the ability of these starfish to resolve objects (with an angular resolution between 30-50 degrees apparently).
- CryptoPunk 7y agoSensing light is distinguished from seeing in the first sentence of the abstract: >>Almost all animals can sense light, but only those with spatial vision can ‘‘see.’’