Interactions and Flexibility in the Orientation System of Migratory Birds

脊椎动物的定向和导航行为在其复杂性和对多个相互作用的线索的依赖方面是引人注目的。该系统使动物能够灵活地应对迁徙过程中可能遇到的各种环境条件。这种行为的灵活性使动物在面对它所依赖的线索的可变性和不断变化的可用性时能够准确地执行任务。只有在鸟类中，定向线索之间的关系才得到了详细的研究。一只幼鸟是如何在第一次迁徙时拥有一套足以成功确定飞行方向的罗盘的？阿布尔博士将采用一种发展的方法来解决这个问题，在受控的条件下举起鸟类，在这种条件下，它们与相关方位线索(地球磁场、太阳、恒星、天空中的偏振光图案)的经验可以被操纵。通过这种方式，艾布尔博士可以描绘出幼年动物在指南针定向能力发展过程中发生的相互作用和校准。就像大多数复杂的行为一样，这种发展涉及基于遗传的倾向和模板与经验和学习的丰富相互作用。这项研究将有助于更好地理解复杂行为的发展，并更好地理解鸟类迁徙，这对保护新热带候鸟至关重要。

The orientation and navigation behavior of vertebrate animals is remarkable in its complexity and reliance on multiple, interacting cues. The system enables animals to respond flexibly to the variety of environmental conditions that may be encountered during a migratory journey. This flexibility in behavior enables the animal to perform accurately in the face of variability and changing availability of the cues upon which it relies. Only in birds have the relationships among orientation cues been explored in detail. How does a young bird come to possess a suite of compasses sufficient, on its first migration, to successfully determine in which direction to fly? Dr. Able will employ a developmental approach to this problem, hand-raising birds under controlled conditions in which their experiences with relevant orientation cues (earth's magnetic field, sun, stars, polarized-light patterns in the sky) can be manipulated. In this way Dr. Able can delineate the interactions and calibrations that occur during the development of compass-orientation abilities in the young animal. As in most complex behavior, this development involves a rich interplay of genetically-based predispositions and templates with experience and learning. The research will contribute importantly both to improved understanding of the development of complex behavior, and to a greater understanding of bird migration that will be crucial in efforts to conserve neotropical migratory birds.