Ultrastructural Changes of Rhabdoms of the Eyes of Ocypode Species in Relation to Different Regimes of Light and Dark Adaptation

Abstract Ultrastructural changes of the compound eyes were compared in Ocypode species living under different daylight and annual rhythms near the equator (O. ryderi, O. ceratophthalma), in the northern (O. cursor) and in the southern hemisphere (O. quadrata). Independent of geographical latitude, the eyes of these Ocypode species undergo daily changes in morphology. Throughout the day the rhabdomeric diameter is small. A massive increase of rhabdom diameter occurs at dusk; a breakdown phase starts during the second half of the night. Before dawn the rhabdom size is near to that during daytime and seems to be prepared for the day-state. Besides the rhabdom, the size of the palisade-ER and the position of pigment granules and mitochondria within the retinula cells change. In all investigated Ocypode species the rhabdom turnover is influenced by different light and dark regimes. During extended darkness, rhabdom diameters resemble those of day-adapted animals. Extended exposures to light cause no or little ...