A magnetic pulse does not affect free-flight navigation behaviour of a medium-distance songbird migrant in spring.

ABSTRACT: Current evidence suggests that migratory animals extract map information from the geomagnetic field for true navigation. The sensory basis underlying this feat is elusive, but presumably involves magnetic particles. A common experimental manipulation procedure consists of pre-treating animals with a magnetic pulse, with the aim of re-magnetising particles to alter the internal representation of the external field prior to a navigation task. Although pulsing provoked deflected bearings in caged songbirds, analogous studies with free-flying songbirds yielded inconsistent results. Here, we pulsed European robins (Erithacus rubecula) at an offshore stopover site during spring migration and monitored their free-flight behaviour with a regional-scale network of radio-receiving stations. We found

SUBMITTER: Karwinkel T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9604362 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature