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Merlin C. Insect magnetoreception: a Cry for mechanistic insights. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2023; 209:785-792. [PMID: 37184693 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-023-01636-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Migratory animals can detect and use the Earth's magnetic field for orientation and navigation, sometimes over distances spanning thousands of kilometers. How they do so remains, however, one of the greatest mysteries in all sensory biology. Here, the author reviews the progress made to understand the molecular bases of the animal magnetic sense focusing on insect species, the only species in which genetic studies have so far been possible. The central hypothesis in the field posits that magnetically sensitive radical pairs formed by photoexcitation of cryptochrome proteins are key to animal magnetoreception. The author provides an overview of our current state of knowledge for the involvement of insect light-sensitive type I and light-insensitive type II cryptochromes in this enigmatic sense, and highlights some of the unanswered questions to gain a comprehensive understanding of magnetoreception at the organismal level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Merlin
- Center for Biological Clock Research and Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77845, USA.
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2
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Dufour P, Åkesson S, Hellström M, Hewson C, Lagerveld S, Mitchell L, Chernetsov N, Schmaljohann H, Crochet PA. The Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) as a model to understand vagrancy and its potential for the evolution of new migration routes. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2022; 10:59. [PMID: 36517925 PMCID: PMC9753335 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00345-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Why and how new migration routes emerge remain fundamental questions in ecology, particularly in the context of current global changes. In its early stages, when few individuals are involved, the evolution of new migration routes can be easily confused with vagrancy, i.e. the occurrence of individuals outside their regular breeding, non-breeding or migratory distribution ranges. Yet, vagrancy can in theory generate new migration routes if vagrants survive, return to their breeding grounds and transfer their new migration route to their offspring, thus increasing a new migratory phenotype in the population. Here, we review the conceptual framework and empirical challenges of distinguishing regular migration from vagrancy in small obligate migratory passerines and explain how this can inform our understanding of migration evolution. For this purpose, we use the Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) as a case study. This Siberian species normally winters in southern Asia and its recent increase in occurrence in Western Europe has become a prominent evolutionary puzzle. We first review and discuss available evidence suggesting that the species is still mostly a vagrant in Western Europe but might be establishing a new migration route initiated by vagrants. We then list possible empirical approaches to check if some individuals really undertake regular migratory movements between Western Europe and Siberia, which would make this species an ideal model for studying the links between vagrancy and the emergence of new migratory routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Dufour
- LECA, CNRS, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, Grenoble, France.
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| | - Susanne Åkesson
- Department of Biology, Center for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 22362, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Chris Hewson
- British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP27 2PU, UK
| | - Sander Lagerveld
- Wageningen University & Research, Ankerpark 27, 1781 AG, Den Helder, Netherlands
| | - Lucy Mitchell
- Environmental Research Institute, Centre for Energy and Environment (CfEE), The North Highland College UHI, Ormlie Road, Thurso, KW14 7EE, UK
| | - Nikita Chernetsov
- Ornithology Lab, Zoological Institute RAS, 1 Universitetskaya Emb, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, 7-9 Universitetskaya Emb, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Heiko Schmaljohann
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences (IBU), Car Von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl-Von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany
- Institute of Avian Research, An Der Vogelwarte 21, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
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3
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McLaren JD, Schmaljohann H, Blasius B. Predicting performance of naïve migratory animals, from many wrongs to self-correction. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1058. [PMID: 36195660 PMCID: PMC9532420 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03995-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Migratory orientation of many animals is inheritable, enabling inexperienced (naïve) individuals to migrate independently using a geomagnetic or celestial compass. It remains unresolved how naïve migrants reliably reach remote destinations, sometimes correcting for orientation error or displacement. To assess naïve migratory performance (successful arrival), we simulate and assess proposed compass courses for diverse airborne migratory populations, accounting for spherical-geometry effects, compass precision, cue transfers (e.g., sun to star compass), and geomagnetic variability. We formulate how time-compensated sun-compass headings partially self-correct, according to how inner-clocks are updated. For the longest-distance migrations simulated, time-compensated sun-compass courses are most robust to error, and most closely resemble known routes. For shorter-distance nocturnal migrations, geomagnetic or star-compass courses are most robust, due to not requiring nightly cue-transfers. Our predictive study provides a basis for assessment of compass-based naïve migration and mechanisms of self-correction, and supports twilight sun-compass orientation being key to many long-distance inaugural migrations. A model is developed for assessing compass-based naïve animal migration, revealing effects of spherical geometry on migratory performance, and related mechanisms of self-correction.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D McLaren
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), University of Oldenburg, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.
| | - Heiko Schmaljohann
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences (IBU), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.,Institute of Avian Research, 26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Bernd Blasius
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), University of Oldenburg, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB), University of Oldenburg, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany
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4
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Spatial-temporal interpolation of satellite geomagnetic data to study long-distance animal migration. ECOL INFORM 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2022.101888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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5
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Flack A, Aikens EO, Kölzsch A, Nourani E, Snell KR, Fiedler W, Linek N, Bauer HG, Thorup K, Partecke J, Wikelski M, Williams HJ. New frontiers in bird migration research. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1187-R1199. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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6
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Putman NF. Magnetosensation. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:1-7. [PMID: 35098367 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01538-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Magnetic maps in animal navigation. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:41-67. [PMID: 34999936 PMCID: PMC8918461 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01529-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
In addition to providing animals with a source of directional or ‘compass’ information, Earth’s magnetic field also provides a potential source of positional or ‘map’ information that animals might exploit to assess location. In less than a generation, the idea that animals use Earth’s magnetic field as a kind of map has gone from a contentious hypothesis to a well-established tenet of animal navigation. Diverse animals ranging from lobsters to birds are now known to use magnetic positional information for a variety of purposes, including staying on track along migratory pathways, adjusting food intake at appropriate points in a migration, remaining within a suitable oceanic region, and navigating toward specific goals. Recent findings also indicate that sea turtles, salmon, and at least some birds imprint on the magnetic field of their natal area when young and use this information to facilitate return as adults, a process that may underlie long-distance natal homing (a.k.a. natal philopatry) in many species. Despite recent progress, much remains to be learned about the organization of magnetic maps, how they develop, and how animals use them in navigation.
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Åkesson S, Bakam H, Martinez Hernandez E, Ilieva M, Bianco G. Migratory orientation in inexperienced and experienced avian migrants. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.1905076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Åkesson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund 22362, Sweden
| | - Himma Bakam
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund 22362, Sweden
| | | | - Mihaela Ilieva
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund 22362, Sweden
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Str., Sofia 1113, Bulgaria
| | - Giuseppe Bianco
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, Lund 22362, Sweden
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Åkesson S, Grönroos J, Bianco G. Autumn migratory orientation and route choice in early and late dunlins Calidris alpina captured at a stopover site in Alaska. Biol Open 2021; 10:260593. [PMID: 33913474 PMCID: PMC8096618 DOI: 10.1242/bio.058655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the migratory orientation of early and late captured dunlins, Calidris alpina, by recording their migratory activity in circular orientation cages during autumn at a staging site in southwest Alaska and performed route simulations to the wintering areas. Two races of dunlins breeding in Alaska have different wintering grounds in North America (Pacific Northwest), and East Asia. Dunlins caught early in autumn (presumably Calidris alpinapacifica) oriented towards their wintering areas (east-southeast; ESE) supporting the idea that they migrate nonstop over the Gulf of Alaska to the Pacific Northwest. We found no difference in orientation between adult and juveniles, nor between fat and lean birds or under clear and overcast skies demonstrating that age, energetic status and cloud cover did not affect the dunlins’ migratory orientation. Later in autumn, we recorded orientation responses towards south-southwest suggesting arrival of the northern subspecies Calidris alpinaarcticola at our site. Route simulations revealed multiple compass mechanisms were compatible with the initial direction of early dunlins wintering in the Pacific Northwest, and for late dunlins migrating to East Asia. Future high-resolution tracking would reveal routes, stopover use including local movements and possible course shifts during migration from Alaska to wintering sites on both sides of the north Pacific Ocean. Summary: Orientation experiments with dunlins captured in Alaska during autumn migration confirm orientation to distant wintering areas. Route simulations revealed multiple compass mechanisms were compatible with the initial direction of early dunlins wintering in the Pacific Northwest, and for dunlins migrating to East Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Åkesson
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Johanna Grönroos
- Department of Environmental Science and Bioscience, Kristianstad University, 29188 Kristianstad, Sweden
| | - Giuseppe Bianco
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 22362 Lund, Sweden
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10
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Flying on their own wings: young and adult cuckoos respond similarly to long-distance displacement during migration. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7698. [PMID: 32382101 PMCID: PMC7205979 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64230-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Common cuckoos Cuculus canorus are obligate nest parasites yet young birds reach their distant, species-specific wintering grounds without being able to rely on guidance from experienced conspecifics - in fact they never meet their parents. Naïve marine animals use an inherited navigational map during migration but in inexperienced terrestrial animal migrants unequivocal evidence of navigation is lacking. We present satellite tracking data on common cuckoos experimentally displaced 1,800 km eastward from Rybachy to Kazan. After displacement, both young and adult travelled similarly towards the route of non-displaced control birds. The tracking data demonstrate the potential for young common cuckoos to return to the species-specific migration route after displacement, a response so far reported exclusively in experienced birds. Our results indicate that an inherited map allows first-time migrating cuckoos to locate suitable wintering grounds. This is in contrast to previous studies of solitary terrestrial bird migrants but similar to that reported from the marine environment.
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12
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Sokolovskis K, Bianco G, Willemoes M, Solovyeva D, Bensch S, Åkesson S. Ten grams and 13,000 km on the wing - route choice in willow warblers Phylloscopus trochilus yakutensis migrating from Far East Russia to East Africa. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2018; 6:20. [PMID: 30349724 PMCID: PMC6191995 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-018-0138-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 08/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND High-latitude bird migration has evolved after the last glaciation, in less than 10,000-15,000 years. Migrating songbirds rely on an endogenous migratory program, encoding timing, fueling, and routes, but it is still unknown which compass mechanism they use on migration. We used geolocators to track the migration of willow warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus yakutensis) from their eastern part of the range in Russia to wintering areas in sub-Saharan Africa. Our aim was to investigate if the autumn migration route can be explained by a simple compass mechanism, based on celestial or geomagnetic information, or whether migration is undertaken as a sequence of differential migratory paths possibly involving a map sense. We compared the recorded migratory routes for our tracked birds with simulated routes obtained from different compass mechanisms. RESULTS The three tracked males were very similar in the routes they took to their final wintering sites in southern Tanzania or northern Mozambique, in their use of stopover sites and in the overall timing of migration. None of the tested compass mechanisms could explain the birds' routes to the first stopover area in southwest Asia or to the destination in Southeast Africa without modifications. Our compass mechanism simulations suggest that the simplest scenarios congruent with the observed routes are based on either an inclination or a sun compass, assuming two sequential steps. CONCLUSIONS The birds may follow a magnetoclinic route coinciding closely with the tracks by first moving west, i.e. closer to the goal, and thereafter follow a constant apparent angle of inclination to the stopover site. An alternative would be to use the sun compass, but with time-adjustments along the initial part of the migration to the first stopover, and thereafter depart along a new course to the winter destination. A combination of the two mechanisms cannot be ruled out, but needs to be confirmed in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristaps Sokolovskis
- Department of Biology, Center for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
- Department of Biology, Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
| | - Giuseppe Bianco
- Department of Biology, Center for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
| | - Mikkel Willemoes
- Department of Biology, Center for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
- Department of Biology, Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
| | - Diana Solovyeva
- Institute of Biological Problems in the North, Magadan, Russia
| | - Staffan Bensch
- Department of Biology, Center for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
- Department of Biology, Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
| | - Susanne Åkesson
- Department of Biology, Center for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
- Department of Biology, Evolutionary Ecology Unit, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62 Lund, SE Sweden
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13
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Bianco G, Ilieva M, Veibäck C, Öfjäll K, Gadomska A, Hendeby G, Felsberg M, Gustafsson F, Åkesson S. Emlen funnel experiments revisited: methods update for studying compass orientation in songbirds. Ecol Evol 2017; 6:6930-6942. [PMID: 28725370 PMCID: PMC5513225 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Revised: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Migratory songbirds carry an inherited capacity to migrate several thousand kilometers each year crossing continental landmasses and barriers between distant breeding sites and wintering areas. How individual songbirds manage with extreme precision to find their way is still largely unknown. The functional characteristics of biological compasses used by songbird migrants has mainly been investigated by recording the birds directed migratory activity in circular cages, so‐called Emlen funnels. This method is 50 years old and has not received major updates over the past decades. The aim of this work was to compare the results from newly developed digital methods with the established manual methods to evaluate songbird migratory activity and orientation in circular cages. We performed orientation experiments using the European robin (Erithacus rubecula) using modified Emlen funnels equipped with thermal paper and simultaneously recorded the songbird movements from above. We evaluated and compared the results obtained with five different methods. Two methods have been commonly used in songbirds’ orientation experiments; the other three methods were developed for this study and were based either on evaluation of the thermal paper using automated image analysis, or on the analysis of videos recorded during the experiment. The methods used to evaluate scratches produced by the claws of birds on the thermal papers presented some differences compared with the video analyses. These differences were caused mainly by differences in scatter, as any movement of the bird along the sloping walls of the funnel was recorded on the thermal paper, whereas video evaluations allowed us to detect single takeoff attempts by the birds and to consider only this behavior in the orientation analyses. Using computer vision, we were also able to identify and separately evaluate different behaviors that were impossible to record by the thermal paper. The traditional Emlen funnel is still the most used method to investigate compass orientation in songbirds under controlled conditions. However, new numerical image analysis techniques provide a much higher level of detail of songbirds’ migratory behavior and will provide an increasing number of possibilities to evaluate and quantify specific behaviors as new algorithms will be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Bianco
- Centre for Animal Movement Research Department of Biology Lund University Ecology Building SE-223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Mihaela Ilieva
- Centre for Animal Movement Research Department of Biology Lund University Ecology Building SE-223 62 Lund Sweden.,Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 2 Gagarin street 1113 Sofia Bulgaria
| | - Clas Veibäck
- Division of Automatic Control Department of Electrical Engineering Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping Sweden
| | - Kristoffer Öfjäll
- Computer Vision Laboratory Department of Electrical Engineering Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping Sweden
| | - Alicja Gadomska
- Centre for Animal Movement Research Department of Biology Lund University Ecology Building SE-223 62 Lund Sweden
| | - Gustaf Hendeby
- Division of Automatic Control Department of Electrical Engineering Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping Sweden
| | - Michael Felsberg
- Computer Vision Laboratory Department of Electrical Engineering Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping Sweden
| | - Fredrik Gustafsson
- Division of Automatic Control Department of Electrical Engineering Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping Sweden
| | - Susanne Åkesson
- Centre for Animal Movement Research Department of Biology Lund University Ecology Building SE-223 62 Lund Sweden
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14
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Åkesson S, Bianco G. Route simulations, compass mechanisms and long-distance migration flights in birds. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:475-490. [PMID: 28500441 PMCID: PMC5522512 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1171-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2016] [Revised: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Bird migration has fascinated humans for centuries and routes crossing the globe are now starting to be revealed by advanced tracking technology. A central question is what compass mechanism, celestial or geomagnetic, is activated during these long flights. Different approaches based on the geometry of flight routes across the globe and route simulations based on predictions from compass mechanisms with or without including the effect of winds have been used to try to answer this question with varying results. A major focus has been use of orthodromic (great circle) and loxodromic (rhumbline) routes using celestial information, while geomagnetic information has been proposed for both a magnetic loxodromic route and a magnetoclinic route. Here, we review previous results and evaluate if one or several alternative compass mechanisms can explain migration routes in birds. We found that most cases could be explained by magnetoclinic routes (up to 73% of the cases), while the sun compas s could explain only 50%. Both magnetic and geographic loxodromes could explain <25% of the routes. The magnetoclinic route functioned across latitudes (1°S-74°N), while the sun compass only worked in the high Arctic (61-69°N). We discuss the results with respect to orientation challenges and availability of orientation cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Åkesson
- Centre for Animal Movement Research, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Giuseppe Bianco
- Centre for Animal Movement Research, Department of Biology, Lund University, Ecology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
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15
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Vega ML, Willemoes M, Thomson RL, Tolvanen J, Rutila J, Samaš P, Strandberg R, Grim T, Fossøy F, Stokke BG, Thorup K. First-Time Migration in Juvenile Common Cuckoos Documented by Satellite Tracking. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0168940. [PMID: 28005960 PMCID: PMC5179092 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Being an obligate parasite, juvenile common cuckoos Cuculus canorus are thought to reach their African wintering grounds from Palearctic breeding grounds without guidance from experienced conspecifics but this has not been documented. We used satellite tracking to study naïve migrating common cuckoos. Juvenile cuckoos left breeding sites in Finland moving slowly and less consistently directed than adult cuckoos. Migration of the juveniles (N = 5) was initiated later than adults (N = 20), was directed toward the southwest-significantly different from the initial southeast direction of adults-and included strikingly long Baltic Sea crossings (N = 3). After initial migration of juvenile cuckoos toward Poland, the migration direction changed and proceeded due south, directly toward the winter grounds, as revealed by a single tag transmitting until arrival in Northwest Angola where northern adult cuckoos regularly winter. Compared to adults, the juvenile travelled straighter and faster, potentially correcting for wind drift along the route. That both migration route and timing differed from adults indicates that juvenile cuckoos are able to reach proper wintering grounds independently, guided only by their innate migration programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Lomas Vega
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- * E-mail:
| | - Mikkel Willemoes
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Robert L. Thomson
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jere Tolvanen
- Department of Ecology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Jarkko Rutila
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
| | - Peter Samaš
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | | | - Tomáš Grim
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Frode Fossøy
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Sluppen, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Bård Gunnar Stokke
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Sluppen, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kasper Thorup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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16
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Willemoes M, Blas J, Wikelski M, Thorup K. Flexible navigation response in common cuckoos Cuculus canorus displaced experimentally during migration. Sci Rep 2015; 5:16402. [PMID: 26549318 PMCID: PMC4637880 DOI: 10.1038/srep16402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Migrating birds follow innate species-specific migration programs capable of guiding them along complex spatio-temporal routes, which may include several separate staging areas. Indeed, migration routes of common cuckoos Cuculus canorus show little variation between individuals; yet, satellite tracks of 11 experimentally displaced adults revealed an unexpected flexibility in individual navigation responses. The birds compensated for the translocation to unfamiliar areas by travelling toward population-specific staging areas, demonstrating true navigation capabilities. Individual responses varied from travelling toward the first stopover in northern Europe to flying toward the Central-African winter grounds, the latter including several stopovers in unfamiliar areas. Apparently, the cuckoos possess spatial knowledge far beyond their population-specific flyway scale, and make individual decisions likely based on an assessment of perceived gain and cost of alternative route options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikkel Willemoes
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Universitetsparken 15; 2100 København Ø; Denmark
| | - Julio Blas
- Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, c/Americo Vespucio, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Am Obstberg 1, D-78315 Radolfzell, Germany.,University of Konstanz, Department of Biology, Universitätsstrasse, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Kasper Thorup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate; Natural History Museum of Denmark; University of Copenhagen; Universitetsparken 15; 2100 København Ø; Denmark
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Åkesson S, Odin C, Hegedüs R, Ilieva M, Sjöholm C, Farkas A, Horváth G. Testing avian compass calibration: comparative experiments with diurnal and nocturnal passerine migrants in South Sweden. Biol Open 2014; 4:35-47. [PMID: 25505150 PMCID: PMC4295164 DOI: 10.1242/bio.20149837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Accepted: 09/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Cue-conflict experiments were performed to study the compass calibration of one predominantly diurnal migrant, the dunnock (Prunella modularis), and two species of nocturnal passerine migrants, the sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), and the European robin (Erithacus rubecula) during autumn migration in South Sweden. The birds' orientation was recorded in circular cages under natural clear and simulated overcast skies in the local geomagnetic field, and thereafter the birds were exposed to a cue-conflict situation where the horizontal component of the magnetic field (mN) was shifted +90° or -90° at two occasions, one session starting shortly after sunrise and the other ca. 90 min before sunset and lasting for 60 min. The patterns of the degree and angle of skylight polarization were measured by full-sky imaging polarimetry during the cue-conflict exposures and orientation tests. All species showed orientation both under clear and overcast skies that correlated with the expected migratory orientation towards southwest to south. For the European robin the orientation under clear skies was significantly different from that recorded under overcast skies, showing a tendency that the orientation under clear skies was influenced by the position of the Sun at sunset resulting in more westerly orientation. This sun attraction was not observed for the sedge warbler and the dunnock, both orientating south. All species showed similar orientation after the cue-conflict as compared to the preferred orientation recorded before the cue-conflict, with the clearest results in the European robin and thus, the results did not support recalibration of the celestial nor the magnetic compasses as a result of the cue-conflict exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Åkesson
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Catharina Odin
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Ramón Hegedüs
- Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Campus E1.4, D-66123 Saarbrücken, Germany Environmental Optics Laboratory, Department of Biological Physics, Physical Institute, Eötvös University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány sétány 1, Hungary Manao Group, INRIA Sud-Ouest Bordeaux, 33400 Talence Cedex, France
| | - Mihaela Ilieva
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Christoffer Sjöholm
- Department of Biology, Centre for Animal Movement Research, Lund University, Ecology Building, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Alexandra Farkas
- Environmental Optics Laboratory, Department of Biological Physics, Physical Institute, Eötvös University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány sétány 1, Hungary
| | - Gábor Horváth
- Environmental Optics Laboratory, Department of Biological Physics, Physical Institute, Eötvös University, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány sétány 1, Hungary
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Affiliation(s)
- R. A. Holland
- School of Biological Sciences; Queen's University of Belfast; Belfast UK
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van Toor ML, Hedenström A, Waldenström J, Fiedler W, Holland RA, Thorup K, Wikelski M. Flexibility of continental navigation and migration in European mallards. PLoS One 2013; 8:e72629. [PMID: 24023629 PMCID: PMC3758317 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2012] [Accepted: 07/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The ontogeny of continent-wide navigation mechanisms of the individual organism, despite being crucial for the understanding of animal movement and migration, is still poorly understood. Several previous studies, mainly conducted on passerines, indicate that inexperienced, juvenile birds may not generally correct for displacement during fall migration. Waterbirds such as the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos, Linnaeus 1758) are more flexible in their migration behavior than most migratory songbirds, but previous experiments with waterbirds have not yet allowed clear conclusions about their navigation abilities. Here we tested whether immature mallard ducks correct for latitudinal displacement during fall migration within Europe. During two consecutive fall migration periods, we caught immature females on a stopover site in southeast Sweden, and translocated a group of them ca. 1,000 km to southern Germany. We followed the movements of the ducks via satellite GPS-tracking and observed their migration decisions during the fall and consecutive spring migration. The control animals released in Ottenby behaved as expected from banding recoveries: they continued migration during the winter and in spring returned to the population’s breeding grounds in the Baltics and Northwest Russia. Contrary to the control animals, the translocated mallards did not continue migration and stayed at Lake Constance. In spring, three types of movement tactics could be observed: 61.5% of the ducks (16 of 26) stayed around Lake Constance, 27% (7 of 26) migrated in a northerly direction towards Sweden and 11.5% of the individuals (3 of 26) headed east for ca. 1,000 km and then north. We suggest that young female mallards flexibly adjust their migration tactics and develop a navigational map that allows them to return to their natal breeding area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariëlle L. van Toor
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology,Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Jonas Waldenström
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Wolfgang Fiedler
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology,Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Richard A. Holland
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Kasper Thorup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology,Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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Blaser N, Dell'Omo G, Dell'Ariccia G, Wolfer DP, Lipp HP. Testing cognitive navigation in unknown territories: homing pigeons choose different targets. J Exp Biol 2013; 216:3123-31. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.083246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARY
Homing pigeons (Columba livia) are believed to adopt a map-and-compass strategy to find their way home. Surprisingly, to date a clear demonstration of the use of a cognitive map in free-flight experiments is missing. In this study, we investigated whether homing pigeons use a mental map in which – at an unknown release site – their own position, the home loft and a food loft are represented simultaneously. In order to test this, homing pigeons were trained to fly to a 25–30 km distant food loft. A total of 131 hungry and satiated pigeons were then released from an unfamiliar site equidistant from the food loft and the home loft. Their vanishing bearings and homing times were assessed conventionally at four sites, and also their flight tracks from one release site by means of GPS loggers. The vanishing bearings of fed and hungry birds differed significantly at all release sites and a highly significant proportion of hungry birds flew to the food loft, while the fed birds headed home. The GPS experiment revealed a number of pigeons flying very precisely to the food loft, others correcting their flight direction after topography-induced detours. This implies that the pigeons knew their geographical position in relation to the targets, and chose a flight direction according to their locally manipulated needs – clearly the essence of a cognitive navigational map.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. Blaser
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - D. P. Wolfer
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Human Movement Sciences, ETH Zurich, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - H.-P. Lipp
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
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Ozarowska A, Ilieva M, Zehtindjiev P, Akesson S, Muś K. A new approach to evaluate multimodal orientation behaviour of migratory passerine birds recorded in circular orientation cages. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 216:4038-46. [PMID: 23868843 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.088757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Circular orientation cages have been used for several decades to record the migratory orientation of passerine migrants, and have been central to the investigation of the functional characteristics of the biological compasses used for orientation. The use of these cages offers unique possibilities to study the migratory behaviour of songbirds, but suffers from statistical limitations in evaluating the directions of the activity recorded in the cages. The migratory activity has been reported to vary, including complex multimodal orientation of migratory passerines tested in orientation cages irrespective of species studied. The currently applied circular statistical methods fail to describe orientation responses differing from unimodal and axial distributions. We propose for the first time a modelling procedure enabling the analysis of multimodal distributions at either an individual or a group level. In this paper we compare the results of conventional methods and the recommended modelling approach. Migratory routes may be more complex than a simple migratory direction, and multimodal behaviour in migratory species at the individual and population levels can be advantageous. Individuals may select the expected migratory direction, but may also return to safer sites en route, i.e. sites already known, which provide food and/or shelter in reverse directions. In individual birds, several directions may be expressed in the same test hour. At the species level, multimodal orientation may give an opportunity to expand the range or may refer to differential migration route preferences in different populations of birds. A conflicting experimental situation may also result in a different preferential orientation. In this paper we suggest a statistical solution to deal with these types of variations in orientation preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Ozarowska
- Bird Migration Research Station, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
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22
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Autumn migratory orientation and displacement responses of two willow warbler subspecies (Phylloscopus trochilus trochilus and P. t. acredula) in South Sweden. Behav Processes 2012; 91:253-61. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2012.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2012] [Revised: 08/20/2012] [Accepted: 09/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Northern magnetic displacements trigger endogenous fuelling responses in a naive bird migrant. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1333-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Guilford T, Åkesson S, Gagliardo A, Holland RA, Mouritsen H, Muheim R, Wiltschko R, Wiltschko W, Bingman VP. Migratory navigation in birds: new opportunities in an era of fast-developing tracking technology. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 214:3705-12. [PMID: 22031734 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.051292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Birds have remained the dominant model for studying the mechanisms of animal navigation for decades, with much of what has been discovered coming from laboratory studies or model systems. The miniaturisation of tracking technology in recent years now promises opportunities for studying navigation during migration itself (migratory navigation) on an unprecedented scale. Even if migration tracking studies are principally being designed for other purposes, we argue that attention to salient environmental variables during the design or analysis of a study may enable a host of navigational questions to be addressed, greatly enriching the field. We explore candidate variables in the form of a series of contrasts (e.g. land vs ocean or night vs day migration), which may vary naturally between migratory species, populations or even within the life span of a migrating individual. We discuss how these contrasts might help address questions of sensory mechanisms, spatiotemporal representational strategies and adaptive variation in navigational ability. We suggest that this comparative approach may help enrich our knowledge about the natural history of migratory navigation in birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Guilford
- Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
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25
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Thorup K, Holland RA, Tøttrup AP, Wikelski M. Understanding the migratory orientation program of birds: extending laboratory studies to study free-flying migrants in a natural setting. Integr Comp Biol 2011; 50:315-22. [PMID: 21558206 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icq065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
For many years, orientation in migratory birds has primarily been studied in the laboratory. Although a laboratory-based setting enables greater control over environmental cues, the laboratory-based findings must be confirmed in the wild in free-flying birds to be able to fully understand how birds orient during migration. Despite the difficulties associated with following free-flying birds over long distances, a number of possibilities currently exist for tracking the long distance, sometimes even globe-spanning, journeys undertaken by migrating birds. Birds fitted with radio transmitters can either be located from the ground or from aircraft (conventional tracking), or from space. Alternatively, positional information obtained by onboard equipment (e.g., GPS units) can be transmitted to receivers in space. Use of these tracking methods has provided a wealth of information on migratory behaviors that are otherwise very difficult to study. Here, we focus on the progress in understanding certain components of the migration-orientation system. Comparably exciting results can be expected in the future from tracking free-flying migrants in the wild. Use of orientation cues has been studied in migrating raptors (satellite telemetry) and thrushes (conventional telemetry), highlighting that findings in the natural setting may not always be as expected on the basis of cage-experiments. Furthermore, field tracking methods combined with experimental approaches have finally allowed for an extension of the paradigmatic displacement experiments performed by Perdeck in 1958 on the short-distance, social migrant, the starling, to long-distance migrating storks and long-distance, non-socially migrating passerines. Results from these studies provide fundamental insights into the nature of the migratory orientation system that enables experienced birds to navigate and guide inexperienced, young birds to their species-specific winter grounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasper Thorup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Thorup K, Ortvad TE, Rabøl J, Holland RA, Tøttrup AP, Wikelski M. Juvenile songbirds compensate for displacement to oceanic islands during autumn migration. PLoS One 2011; 6:e17903. [PMID: 21464975 PMCID: PMC3064565 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2010] [Accepted: 02/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
To what degree juvenile migrant birds are able to correct for orientation errors
or wind drift is still largely unknown. We studied the orientation of passerines
on the Faroe Islands far off the normal migration routes of European migrants.
The ability to compensate for displacement was tested in naturally occurring
vagrants presumably displaced by wind and in birds experimentally displaced 1100
km from Denmark to the Faroes. The orientation was studied in orientation cages
as well as in the free-flying birds after release by tracking departures using
small radio transmitters. Both the naturally displaced and the experimentally
displaced birds oriented in more easterly directions on the Faroes than was
observed in Denmark prior to displacement. This pattern was even more pronounced
in departure directions, perhaps because of wind influence. The clear
directional compensation found even in experimentally displaced birds indicates
that first-year birds can also possess the ability to correct for displacement
in some circumstances, possibly involving either some primitive form of true
navigation, or ‘sign posts’, but the cues used for this are highly
speculative. We also found some indications of differences between species in
the reaction to displacement. Such differences might be involved in the
diversity of results reported in displacement studies so far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasper Thorup
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and
Climate, Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen,
Denmark
- * E-mail:
| | - Troels Eske Ortvad
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and
Climate, Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen,
Denmark
| | - Jørgen Rabøl
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and
Climate, Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen,
Denmark
| | - Richard A. Holland
- Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology,
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Anders P. Tøttrup
- Department of Biology, Center for
Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen,
Denmark
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology,
Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany
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Longitude perception and bicoordinate magnetic maps in sea turtles. Curr Biol 2011; 21:463-6. [PMID: 21353561 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.01.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2010] [Revised: 01/08/2011] [Accepted: 01/23/2011] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Long-distance animal migrants often navigate in ways that imply an awareness of both latitude and longitude. Although several species are known to use magnetic cues as a surrogate for latitude, it is not known how any animal perceives longitude. Magnetic parameters appear to be unpromising as longitudinal markers because they typically vary more in a north-south rather than an east-west direction. Here we report, however, that hatchling loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from Florida, USA, when exposed to magnetic fields that exist at two locations with the same latitude but on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, responded by swimming in different directions that would, in each case, help them advance along their circular migratory route. The results demonstrate for the first time that longitude can be encoded into the magnetic positioning system of a migratory animal. Because turtles also assess north-south position magnetically, the findings imply that loggerheads have a navigational system that exploits the Earth's magnetic field as a kind of bicoordinate magnetic map from which both longitudinal and latitudinal information can be extracted.
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Autumn migratory fuelling: a response to simulated magnetic displacements in juvenile wheatears, Oenanthe oenanthe. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-0985-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Henshaw I, Fransson T, Jakobsson S, Kullberg C. Geomagnetic field affects spring migratory direction in a long distance migrant. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-010-0946-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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31
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Thorup K, Holland RA. The bird GPS - long-range navigation in migrants. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 212:3597-604. [PMID: 19880719 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.021238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Nowadays few people consider finding their way in unfamiliar areas a problem as a GPS (Global Positioning System) combined with some simple map software can easily tell you how to get from A to B. Although this opportunity has only become available during the last decade, recent experiments show that long-distance migrating animals had already solved this problem. Even after displacement over thousands of kilometres to previously unknown areas, experienced but not first time migrant birds quickly adjust their course toward their destination, proving the existence of an experience-based GPS in these birds. Determining latitude is a relatively simple task, even for humans, whereas longitude poses much larger problems. Birds and other animals however have found a way to achieve this, although we do not yet know how. Possible ways of determining longitude includes using celestial cues in combination with an internal clock, geomagnetic cues such as magnetic intensity or perhaps even olfactory cues. Presently, there is not enough evidence to rule out any of these, and years of studying birds in a laboratory setting have yielded partly contradictory results. We suggest that a concerted effort, where the study of animals in a natural setting goes hand-in-hand with lab-based study, may be necessary to fully understand the mechanism underlying the long-distance navigation system of birds. As such, researchers must remain receptive to alternative interpretations and bear in mind that animal navigation may not necessarily be similar to the human system, and that we know from many years of investigation of long-distance navigation in birds that at least some birds do have a GPS - but we are uncertain how it works.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasper Thorup
- Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
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32
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Migratory orientation of juvenile yellow-rumped warblers (Dendroica coronata) following stopover: sources of variation and the importance of geographic origins. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-008-0579-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Chernetsov N, Kishkinev D, Mouritsen H. A Long-Distance Avian Migrant Compensates for Longitudinal Displacement during Spring Migration. Curr Biol 2008; 18:188-90. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2007] [Revised: 01/14/2008] [Accepted: 01/14/2008] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Thorup K, Bisson IA, Bowlin MS, Holland RA, Wingfield JC, Ramenofsky M, Wikelski M. Evidence for a navigational map stretching across the continental U.S. in a migratory songbird. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007; 104:18115-9. [PMID: 17986618 PMCID: PMC2084305 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0704734104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2007] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Billions of songbirds migrate several thousand kilometers from breeding to wintering grounds and are challenged with crossing ecological barriers and facing displacement by winds along the route. A satisfactory explanation of long-distance animal navigation is still lacking, partly because of limitations on field-based study. The navigational tasks faced by adults and juveniles differ fundamentally, because only adults migrate toward wintering grounds known from the previous year. Here, we show by radio tracking from small aircraft that only adult, and not juvenile, long-distance migrating white-crowned sparrows rapidly recognize and correct for a continent-wide displacement of 3,700 km from the west coast of North America to previously unvisited areas on the east coast. These results show that the learned navigational map used by adult long-distance migratory songbirds extends at least on a continental scale. The juveniles with less experience rely on their innate program to find their distant wintering areas and continue to migrate in the innate direction without correcting for displacement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasper Thorup
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
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35
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36
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37
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Åkesson S, Hedenström A. How Migrants Get There: Migratory Performance and Orientation. Bioscience 2007. [DOI: 10.1641/b570207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 167] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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Abstract
A recent study has found that sparrows moved gradually east above the Arctic Circle completely altered their migration strategy after encountering the massive natural change in declination near the magnetic pole. This should not happen--or should it?
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Affiliation(s)
- James L Gould
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544-1004, USA
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