Ellis R. Loew
Collaborator – vision in fishes and invertebrates
Cornell University
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Ithaca, NY, USA 14853
Tel. 1-607-253-3484
Email: erl1@cornell.edu
Education
Ph.D. 1973 – Biology, University of California, Los Angeles
M.A. 1971 – Zoology, University of California, Los Angeles
Research interests
- Retinal Electrophysiology
- Evolution and ecology of Colour and ‘Polarized Light’ Vision
- Predator/prey interactions in visual planktivorous fish
- Physical optics of natural waters
- Biochemistry and ecology of visual pigments
- Computer modeling of visual processes using remote sensing techniques
- Electro-optical instrumentation
Publications
Darling, R.S., J.L. Gordon, E.R. Loew. 2019. Microscopic Blue Sapphire in Nelsonite from the Western Adirondack Mountains of New York State, USA. Minerals 9(10), 633. doi: 10.3390/min9100633.
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Gower, D.J., F.L. Sampaio, L. Peichl, H.-J. Wagner, E.R. Loew, , W. Mclamb, R.H. Douglas, N. Orlov, M.S. Grace, N.S. Hart, D.M. Hunt, J.C. Partridge & B.F. Simões. 2019. Evolution of the eyes of vipers with and without infrared-sensing pit organs. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 126(4), 796–823. doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz003.
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Oh, A., E.R. Loew, M.L. Foster, M.G. Davidson, R.V. English, K.J. Gervais, I.P. Herring & F.M. Mowat. 2018. Phenotypic characterization of complete CSNB in the inbred research beagle: how common is CSNB in research and companion dogs? Documenta Ophthalmologica 137, 87–101. doi.org/10.1007/s10633-018-9653-y.
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B.A. Moore, L.P. Tyrrell, J.M. Kamilar, S.P. Collin, N.J. Dominy, M.I. Hall, C.P. Heesy, T.J. Lisney, E.R. Loew, G.L. Moritz, S.S. Nava, E. Warrant, K.E. Yopak & E. Fernández-Juricic. 2017. Structure and Function of Regional Specializations in the Vertebrate Retina. In J.H. Haas (ed.) Evolution of Nervous Systems (Second Edition), Academic Press, Cambridge, MA. Pp. 351-372. doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804042-3.00008-7.
Gruber, D.F., E.R. Loew, D.D. Deheyn, D. Akkaynak, J.P. Gaffney, W.L. Smith, M.P. Davis, J.H. Stern, V.A. Pieribone & J.S. Sparks. 2016. Biofluorescence in Catsharks (Scyliorhinidae): Fundamental Description and Relevance for Elasmobranch Visual Ecology. Scientific reports 6: 24751. doi: 10.1038/srep24751
Schott, R.K., J. Müller, C.G. Yang, N. Bhattacharyya, N. Chan, M. Xu, J.M. Morrow, A.H. Ghenu, E.R. Loew, V. Tropepe & B.S. Chang. 2016. Evolutionary transformation of rod photoreceptors in the all-cone retina of a diurnal garter snake. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(2): 356-361.
Simões, B.F., F.L. Sampaio, E.R. Loew, K.L. Sanders, R.N. Fisher, N.S. Hart, D.M. Hunt, J.C. Partridge & D.J. Gower. 2016. Multiple rod–cone and cone–rod photoreceptor transmutations in snakes: evidence from visual opsin gene expression. In Proc. R. Soc. B 283: 20152624.
Loew, E.R., A.B. Skiftesvik, R. Bjelland, H.I. Browman & C. Durif. 2016. Spectral sensitivity and contrast potentials for four species of cleaner fish. Institute of Marine Research Report No. 39-2016. 12 pp.
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Martin, M., J.F. Le Galliard, S. Meylan & E.R. Loew. 2015. The importance of ultraviolet and near-infrared sensitivity for visual discrimination in two species of lacertid lizards. Journal of Experimental Biology 218(3): 458-465.
Simões, B.F., F.L. Sampaio, C. Jared, M.M. Antoniazzi, E.R. Loew, J.K. Bowmaker, A. Rodriguez, N.S. Hart, D.M. Hunt, J.C. Partridge & D.J. Gower. 2015. Visual system evolution and the nature of the ancestral snake. Journal of evolutionary biology 28(7): 1309-1320.
Taylor, S.M., E.R. Loew, & M.S. Grace. 2015. Ontogenic retinal changes in three ecologically distinct elopomorph fishes (Elopomorpha: Teleostei) correlate with light environment and behavior. Visual neuroscience 32: E005.
Zhou, M., E.R. Loew & R.C. Fuller. 2015. Sexually asymmetric colour-based species discrimination in orangethroat darters. Animal Behaviour 106: 171-179.
Dalton, B.E., E.R. Loew, T.W. Cronin & K.L. Carleton. 2014. Spectral tuning by opsin coexpression in retinal regions that view different parts of the visual field. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 281: 20141980.
Hurtado-Gonzales, J.L., E.R. Loew & J.A.C. Uy. 2014. Variation in the visual habitat may mediate the maintenance of color polymorphism in a poeciliid fish. PloS ONE 9(7): e101497.
Loew, E.R. 2014. Vision: two plus four equals six. Current Biology 24(16): R753-R755.
Bedore, C.N., E.R. Loew, T.M. Frank, R.E. Hueter, D.M. McComb & S.M. Kajiura. 2013. A physiological analysis of color vision in batoid elasmobranchs. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 199(12): 1129-1141.
Wong, A.K., A.L. Ruhe, K.R. Robertson, E.R. Loew, D.C. Williams & M.W. Neff. 2013. A de novo mutation in KIT causes white spotting in a subpopulation of German Shepherd dogs. Animal genetics 44(3): 305-310.
Archer, S., M.B. Djamgoz, E. Loew, J.C. Partridge & S. Vallerga, eds. 2013. Adaptive mechanisms in the ecology of vision. Springer Science & Business Media.
Barton-Lamb, A.L., M. Martin-Flores, P.V. Scrivani, A.J. Bezuidenhout, E.R. Loew, H.N. Erb & J.W. Ludders. 2013. Evaluation of maxillary arterial blood flow in anesthetized cats with the mouth closed and open. Veterinary J. 196: 325-331.
Gumm, J.M., E.R. Loew & T.C. Mendelson. 2012. Differences in spectral sensitivity within and among species of darters (genus Etheostoma). Vision Res 55: 19-23.
Moore, B.A., J.M. Kamilar, S.P. Collin, O.R.P Bininda-Emonds, N.J. Dominy, M.I. Hall, C.P. Heesy, S. Johnsen, T.J. Lisney, E.R. Loew, G. Moritz, S.S. Navall, E. Warrant, K.E. Yopak, E. Fernandez-Juricic. 2012. A novel method for comparative analysis of retinal specialization traits from topographic maps. J. Vision 12: 13.
Moore, B.A., P. Baumhardt, M. Doppler, J. Randolet, B.F. Blackwell, L. Travis, E.R. Loew, E. Fernandez-Juricic. 2012. Oblique color vision in an open-habitat bird: spectral sensitivity, photoreceptor distribution and behavioral implications. J. Exp. Biol. 215: 3442-3452.
Weadick, C.J., E.R. Loew, F.H. Rodd & B.S.W. Chang. 2012. Visual Pigment Molecular Evolution in the Trinidadian Pike Cichlid (Crenicichla frenata): A Less Colorful World for Neotropical Cichlids? Mol. Biol. Evol. 29: 3045-3060.
Fleishman, L.J., E.R. Loew, M.J. Whiting. 2011. High sensitivity to short wavelengths in a lizard and implications for understanding the evolution of visual systems in lizards. Proc. Royal Soc. Biol. Sci. B. 278: 2891-2899.
Speiser, D.I., E.R. Loew & S. Johnsen. 2011. Spectral sensitivity of the concave mirror eyes of scallops: potential influences of habitat, self-screening and longitudinal chromatic aberration. Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 422-431.
Taylor, S.M., E.R. Loew & M.S. Grace. 2011. Developmental shifts in functional morphology of the retina in Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus (Elopomorpha: Teleostei) between four ecologically distinct life-history stages. Visual Neurosci 28: 309-323.
Taylor, S.M., E.R. Loew.,& M.S. Grace. 2011. A rod-dominated visual system in elopomorph fishes (Elopomorpha: Teleostei). Environmental Biology of Fishes 92: 513-523.
Boscarino, B.T., L.G. Rudstam, J. Tirabassi, J. Janssen & E.R. Loew. 2010. Light effects on alewife-mysid interactions in Lake Ontario: A combined sensory physiology, behavioral and spatial approach. Limnol. Oceanography 55: 2061-2072.
Watson, C.T., K.P. Lubieniecki, E. Loew, W.S. Davidson and F. Breden. 2010. Genomic organization of duplicated short wave-sensitive and long wave-sensitive opsin genes in the green swordtail, Xiphophorus helleri. BMC Evolutionary Biology 10: Article 87.
Boscarino, B.T., L.G. Rudstam, E.R. Loew & E.L. Mills. 2009. Predicting the vertical distribution of the opossum shrimp, Mysis relicta, in Lake Ontario: a test of laboratory-based light preferences. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 66: 101-113.
Feller, K.D., S. Lagerholm, R. Clubwala, M.T. Silver, D. Haughey, J.M. Ryan, E.R. Loew, M.E. Deutschlander and K.L. Kenyon. 2009. Characterization of photoreceptor cell types in the little brown bat Myotis lucifugus (Vespertilionidae). Comp Biochem Physiol B 154: 412-418.
Solessio, E., G.A. Engbretson, D.A. Cameron, E.R. Loew, Y. Umino, R.B. Barlow & B.E. Knox. 2009. Light responses in vitamin A-deprived rods. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 50: 4477-4486.
Young, J.D., N.D. Yan and E.R. Loew. 2009. Examination of direct daytime predation by Coregonus artedi on Bythotrephes longimanus in Harp Lake, Ontario, Canada: No evidence for the refuge hypothesis. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 66: 449-459.
Beason, R.C. & E.R. Loew. 2008. Visual pigment and oil droplet characteristics of the bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), a New World migratory bird. Vision Res. 48: 1-8.
Bowmaker J.K. & E.R. Loew (2008) Vision in fish. In: R.R.Hoy, G.M. Shepherd, A.I. Basbaum, A. Kaneko & G. Westheimer (eds). The Senses: A Comprehensive Reference Vol. 1. Elsevier, Oxford, UK. PP 53-76.
Carleton. K.L., T.C. Spady, J.T. Streelman, M.R. Kidd, W.N. McFarland & E.R. Loew. 2008. Visual sensitivities tuned by heterochromatic shifts in opsin gene expression. BMC Biology 6: 22-36.
Gray, S.M., L.M. Dill, F.Y. Tantu, E.R. Loew, F. Herder and J.S. McKinnon. 2008. Environment-contingent sexual selection in a colour polymorphic fish. Proc. R. Soc. B. 275: 1785-1791. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2008.0283
Loew, E.R. and C.M. Wahl. 2008. Photoreception. In: R.N. Finn & B.G. Kapoor (ed.) Fish Larval Physiology. Science Publishers, Enfield, NH. Pp. 395-424.
Sillman, A.J., E.K. Ong, E.R. Loew. 2007. Spectral absorbance, structure, and population density of photoreceptors in the retina of the lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Canadian Journal of Zoology 85(4): 584-587.
Korner, K.E., I. Schlupp, M. Plath, E.R. Loew. 2006. Spectral sensitivity of mollies: comparing surface- and cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies, Poecilia mexicana. Journal of Fish Biology 69(1): 54-65.
Bowmaker, J.K., E.R. Loew & M. Ott. 2005. The cone photoreceptors and visual pigments of chameleons. Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology 191(10): 925-932.
Sillman, A.J., A.K. Beach, D.A. Dahlin, E.R. Loew. 2005. Photoreceptors and visual pigments in the retina of the fully anadromous green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostrus) and the potamodromous pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus). Journal of Comparative Physiology A-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology 191(9): 799-811.
Spady, T.C., O. Seehausen, E.R. Loew, R.C. Jordan, T.D. Kocher, K.L. Carleton. 2005. Adaptive molecular evolution in the opsin genes of rapidly speciating cichlid species. Molecular Biology and Evolution 22(6): 1412-1422.
Boal, J.G., N. Shashar, M.M. Grable, K.H. Vaughan, E.R. Loew, R.T. Hanlon. 2004. Behavioral evidence for intraspecific signaling with achromatic and polarized light by cuttlefish (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Behaviour 141: 837-861.
Rowe, M.P., C.L. Baube, E.R. Loew & J.B. Phillips. 2004. Optimal mechanisms for finding and selecting mates: how threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) should encode male throat colors. J. Comp. Physiol. A. 190(3): 241-256.
Siddiqi, A., T.W. Cronin, E.R. Loew, M. Vorobyev, K. Summers. 2004. Interspecific and intraspecific views of color signals in the strawberry poison frog Dendrobates pumilio. Journal of Experimental Biology 207(14): 2471-2485.
Losey, G.S., W.N. McFarland, E.R. Loew, J.P. Zamzow, P.A. Nelson & N.J. Marshall. (2003) Visual biology of Hawaiian coral reef fishes I. Ocular transmission and visual pigments. Copeia 2003: 433-454.
Marshall, N.J., K. Jennings, W.N. McFarland, E.R. Loew & G.S. Losey. 2003. Visual biology of Hawaiian coral reef fishes. II. Colors of Hawaiian coral reef fish. Copeia 2003: 455-466.
Marshall, N.J., K. Jennings, W.N. McFarland, E.R. Loew & G.S. Losey. 2003. Visual biology of Hawaiian coral reef fishes. III. Environmental light and an integrated approach to the ecology of reef fish vision. Copeia 2003: 467-480.
Diau, G.Y., E.R. Loew, V. Wijendran, E. Sarkadi-Nagy, P.W. Nathanielsz, J.T. Brenna. 2003. Docosahexaenoic and arachidonic acid influence on preterm baboon retinal composition and function. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 44(10): 4559-4566.
Loew, E.R. 2002. Color Vision in Animals. In: Small Animal Ophthalmology Secrets” (R.C. Riis, ed). Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, pp. 7-11.
Loew, E.R., W.N. McFarland and D. Margulies. 2002. Developmental changes in the visual pigments of the yellowfin tuna, Thunnus Albacares. Mar. Fresh. Behav. Physiol. 35: 235-246.
Britt, L., E.R. Loew & W.N. McFarland. 2001. The visual pigments of pacific northwest larval marine fishes. J. Exp. Biol. 204: 2581-2587.
Loew, E.R. (2001) Electrical activity of the visual system: the ERG and the VER. In: Small Animal Ophthalmology Secrets” (R.C. Riis, ed). Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, pp. 1-6.
Loew, E.R. & V.I. Govardovskii. 2001. Photoreceptors and visual pigments in the red-eared turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans. J. Exp. Biol. 18: 753-757.
Sillman, A.J., J.L Johnson & E.R. Loew. 2001. Retinal photoreceptors and visual pigments in Boa constrictor imperator. J. Experimental Zool. 290: 359-365.
Riis, R.C., C. Jackson, W. Rebhun, M.L. Katz, E. Loew, B. Summers, J. Cummings, A. de Lahunta, T. Divers & H. Mohammed. 1999. Ocular manifestations of equine motor neuron disease. Equine Veterinary Journal, 31: 99-110. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1999.tb03801.x.
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Fleishman, L.J., M. Bowman, D. Saunders, W.E. Miller & E.R. Loew. 1997. The visual ecology of Puerto Rican anoline lizards: habitat and spectral sensitivity. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 181: 446-460.
Sillman, A.J., G.A. Letsinger, S. Patel, E.R. Loew & A.P. Klimley. 1996. Visual pigments and photoreceptors in two species of shark, Triakis semifasciata and Mustelus henlei. Journal of Experimental Zoology 276: 1-10.
Loew, E.R. (1995) Determinants of visual pigment spectral location and photoreceptor cell spectral sensitivity. In, The Outer Retina (M.B.A. Djamgoz, S.N. Archer, and S. Vallerga, eds.) London: Chapman Hall, pp. 57-78.
Sillman, A.J., M.E. Sorsky & E.R. Loew. 1995. The visual pigments of wild sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). Canadian Journal of Zoology 73: 805-809.
McFarland, W.N. & E.R. Loew. 1994. Ultraviolet visual pigments in marine fishes of the family Pomacentridae. Vision Research 34: 1393-1396.
Loew, E.R., W.N. McFarland, E.L. Mills & D. Hunter. 1993. A chromatic action spectrum for planktonic predation by juvenile yellow perch, Perca flavescens. Canadian Journal of Zoology 71: 384-386.
Loew, E.R., and A.J. Sillman. 1993. Age-related changes in the visual pigments of the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). Canadian Journal of Zoology 71: 1552-1557.
Sillman, A.J., S.J. Ronan & E.R. Loew. 1993. Scanning electron microscopy and microspectrophotometry of the photoreceptors of ictalurid catfishes. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 173: 801-807.
Loew, E.R. & C.M Wahl. 1991. A short-wavelength sensitive mechanism in juvenile yellow perch, Perca flavescens. Vision Res 31: 353-360.
Gruber, S.H., E.R. Loew & W.N. McFarland. 1990. Rod and cone pigments of the Atlantic guitarfish, Rhinobatos lentigenosus (Garman). Journal of Experimental Zoology 256: 85-87.
Loew, E.R. & W.N. McFarland (1990). “The Underwater visual environment. In: “The Visual System of Fish” (R. Douglas M. Djamgoz, eds.) London: Chapman Hall, pp. 1-44.
Sillman, A.J., J. Spanfelder & E.R. Loew. 1990. The visual pigments of the sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus. Can. J. Zoology 68: 1544-1551.
Lythgoe, J.N. & E.R. Loew. 1985. The ecology of colour vision. Endeavour 9: 170-174.
McFarland, W.N. & E.R. Loew. 1983. Wave produced changes in underwater light and their relation to vision. Environmental Biology of Fishes 8: 173-184.
Allen, D.M., E.R. Loew & W.N. McFarland. 1982. Seasonal changes in the amount of visual pigment in the retinae of fish. Canadian Journal of Zoology 60: 281-287.
Sillman, A.J., D.A. Bolnick, A.E. Walter & E.R. Loew. 1981. Microspectrophotometry of the photoreceptors of paleognathous birds the emu and the tinamu. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 144: 271-276.
Loew, E.R. & J.N. Lythgoe. 1978. The ecology of cone pigments in teleost fishes. Vision Research 18: 715-722.
Loew, E.R. and H.J.A. Dartnall. 1977. MSP measurements of rod and cone visual pigments in a retina that can be either vitamin A1- or vitamin A2-based. In: Research in Photobiology (A. Castellani, ed.). New York: Plenum Press, pp. 639-644.
Loew, E.R. 1976. Light and photoreceptor degeneration in the Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (L). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 193: 31-44.
Bowmaker, J.K., E.R. Loew & P.A. Liebman. 1975. Variation in the lambda max of rhodopsin from individual frogs. Vision Research 15: 997-1003.
Loew, E.R. 1973. Analysis of the visual response of the fly, Sarcophaga bullata, during pupal development. Documentia Ophthalmologica Proceedings II (H. Henkes J. Pearlman, eds.), pp. 281-292.