DOI: 10.5061/dryad.41ns1rnsh
title: Transmission through muscle tissue shapes polarization signals during cuttlefish courtship

description: This dataset represents analyses of how birefringent arm muscles shape
 polarization-based courtship signals in male Doratosepion andreanum,
 pairing the revised manuscript and SI for context with all raw
 and  processed inputs needed to recreate the figures and extended
 data. Optic measurement quantify AoLP/DoLP across arm regions and
 wavelengths, and map how transmitted light rotates relative to background
 illumination. Pixel-wise polarimetry maps capture the spatial mosaic of
 AoLP/DoLP in displaying arms, and birefringence model fits report
 individual optical parameters and contributions of different optical
 mechanism. The accompanying R workflow converts polarization images into
 AoLP/DoLP fields and interneuron activity estimates, enabling direct reuse
 or extension to new datasets. In this study, we show that transparent
 muscle tissue in cuttlefish can actively shape visual signals for
 courtship by modulating light polarization—the orientation of light wave
 oscillation. Using photo-polarimetry, we reveal that sexually ornamented
 cuttlefish arms display a spatial pattern of horizontal and vertical
 polarization. This enhances visual contrast optimally for cuttlefish
 polarization vision. The pattern arises from light transmission across a
 birefringent muscle layer that rotates the angle of polarization.
description: # Dryad dataset Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.41ns1rnsh ## Description of the
 data and file structure This dataset contains the raw and processed data
 used to generate the main and extended figures in the manuscript titled
 "Muscle transmission shapes conspicuous polarization signals in
 cuttlefish." All data are provided in standard formats (CSV, BMP, R
 script). Below is a description of each file and its correspondence to
 specific figures or analyses in the manuscript. ### Files and variables
 ### 1. Optic_measurement(Fig4dgh).csv * Description: DoLP (Degree of
 Linear Polarization) and AoLP (°, Angle of Linear Polarization)
 estimations of transmitted light in different arm regions. * loc: measured
 arm regions. Base, Middle, and Tip correspond to three positions located
 at 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 along the arm, respectively, where 0 is defined as
 the base and 1 as the tip of the SDA. * wavelength: light wavelength (nm)
 * r2: coefficient of determination of estimated AoLP * max: max value of
 RGB channel * min: min value of RGB channel * green, blue, red represent
 color channel * Figure: Fig. 4d, 4g, 4h --- ### 2.
 Optical_measurement(Fig4f).csv * Description: Optical model predictions of
 AoLP and DoLP after transmission through SDA (sexually dimorphic arm) of
 cuttlefish. * AoLP_out and DoLP_out: estimated AoLP and DoLP of ROI_out
 (light transmitted through the SDA) * AoLP_in: estimated AoLP and of
 ROI_in (background light) * Figure: Fig. 4f --- ### 3.
 Optical_measurement(white_LED)(Extended_Data_fig8).csv * Description: AoLP
 of transmitted white light across RGB channels. * Estimated AoLP: AoLP
 estimated by Malus's law * Figure: Extended Data Fig. 8b --- ### 4.
 polarimetry_map.csv * Description: Pixel-wise polarization map for
 cuttlefish courtship display. Each line represents one pixel * X, Y: pixel
 x and y * Mean: RGB channel value of each color channel * AoLP and DoLP:
 AoLP and DoLP estimated from RGB value. * Figure: Fig. 1l --- ### 5.
 polarimetry_modelfit_result(Extended_Data_table1).csv * Description: Fit
 results for each individual. * chi: the direction of principal oscillation
 axis * phi: amount of phase retardation ϕ between two orthogonal light
 waves. * const: amount of AoLP shift caused by circular birefringent *
 u: the depolarization effect due to light scattering * R2: coefficient of
 determination of estimated AoLP and DoLP * contribution: relative
 contribution of each birefringence effect to AoLP rotation * Table:
 Extended Data Table 1 --- ## Code/software ### 6. Measure_P1_activity.R *
 Description: R script used for calculating P1 activity from polarization
 images. * Associated with: Data processing for Fig. 2 * Requirements: R
 4.x, tidyverse, nls, ggplot2 * How to use: Any polarization image can be
 put into img &lt;- load.image("Polarization image.png"). ```R
 ```