A strong magnetic pulse affects the precision of departure direction of naturally migrating adult but not juvenile birds
A strong magnetic pulse affects the precision of departure direction of naturally migrating adult but not juvenile birds
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DOI：
10.1098/rsif.2012.1047
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发表时间：
2013-04-06
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Helm, Barbara
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Holland, Richard A.;Helm, Barbara
候鸟实现其通常壮观的导航性能的机制在很大程度上仍然不清楚，但对地球磁场线索的感知被认为起到了作用。有迁徙经验的鸟类可以使用基于地图的导航，这可能涉及到一个感受器，它使用亚铁磁性材料来检测磁场中的梯度。通过施加使亚铁磁性材料重新磁化的强磁脉冲，可以在实验上破坏这种机制。在圈养中，这种处理确实影响了成年鸟类的生育，但不影响幼鸟的生育。然而，实地研究让鸟类接触到各种导航信号，结果喜忧参半。支持性研究很难解释，因为它们是在春季进行的，所有年龄段的人都会回到繁殖区。因此，本研究在秋季对自然迁徙的、带有无线电标记的欧洲知更鸟进行了磁脉冲治疗。我们发现，尽管整体方位在季节性上是正确的，但成年知更鸟的定向受到脉冲的影响，而不是幼年知更鸟的定向。与成年对照组和青少年相比，在治疗10天内离开的脉搏成虫没有表现出明显的定向，并且更偏离平均迁移方向。因此，我们的数据为鸟类迁徙过程中可能的亚铁磁图感觉提供了基于现场的支持。
The mechanisms by which migratory birds achieve their often spectacular navigational performance are still largely unclear, but perception of cues from the Earth's magnetic field is thought to play a role. Birds that possess migratory experience can use map-based navigation, which may involve a receptor that uses ferrimagnetic material for detecting gradients in the magnetic field. Such a mechanism can be experimentally disrupted by applying a strong magnetic pulse that re-magnetizes ferrimagnetic materials. In captivity, this treatment indeed affected bearings of adult but not of naive juvenile birds. However, field studies, which expose birds to various navigational cues, yielded mixed results. Supportive studies were difficult to interpret because they were conducted in spring when all age groups navigate back to breeding areas. The present study, therefore, applied a magnetic pulse treatment in autumn to naturally migrating, radio-tagged European robins. We found that, although overall bearings were seasonally correct, orientation of adult but not juvenile robins was compromised by a pulse. Pulsed adults that departed within 10 days of treatment failed to show significant orientation and deviated more from mean migration direction than adult controls and juveniles. Thus, our data give field-based support for a possible ferrimagnetic map-sense during bird migration.