Magnetic Position-Finding and Navigation in Sea Turtles

题目：海龟的磁定位和导航海龟是如何在看似毫无特色的广阔海洋中导航的，几十年来一直是一个谜。最近的实验表明，刚孵化的红海龟可以感知地球磁场的两种不同特征，这可能会提供全球位置的信息。这些结果表明，海龟导航系统的关键可能是利用磁场特征确定位置的能力。拟议的研究有三个主要目标。第一个是调查孵化的红海龟如何对北大西洋不同地点的磁特征做出反应。第二种方法是检验海龟是否能够区分相邻和相对靠近的不同海岸区域的磁特征，如果成年海龟利用磁特征导航到出生海滩附近，它们可能需要这样做。最后一组实验研究了海龟探测到地球磁场的哪些特征并作出反应。这项研究的结果可能会揭示以前未被发现的定位和导航机制，这些机制不仅适用于海龟，还适用于各种动物，如候鸟、商业上重要的鱼类（如鲑鱼）和海洋哺乳动物。此外，了解海龟是如何导航的，以及它们成年后如何找到自己的出生地，可能有助于保护这些受威胁和濒临灭绝的物种。研究结果还可能揭示与人类导航系统相关的新导航方法。

Animal Behavior ProgramNontechnical AbstractProposal #: 9816065PI: Lohmann, KennethTitle: MAGNETIC POSITION-FINDING AND NAVIGATION IN SEA TURTLES How sea turtles navigate across vast expanses of seemingly featureless ocean has remained a mystery for decades. Recent experiments have revealed that hatchling loggerhead turtles can sense two different features of the earth's magnetic field that may provide information on global position. These results suggest that the key to the sea turtle navigational system may be an ability to determine location using magnetic field features. The proposed research has three major objectives. The first is to investigate how hatchling loggerheads respond to magnetic features marking various locations throughout the North Atlantic. A second is to examine whether turtles can distinguish between the magnetic features that mark different coastal regions that are contiguous and relatively close together, as adults would presumably need to do if they use magnetic features to navigate into the vicinity of their natal beaches. A final set of experiments investigates what specific feature or features of the earth's field the turtles detect and respond to. Results of the research are likely to reveal previously undiscovered mechanisms of position-finding and navigation that are used not only by sea turtles, but by diverse animals such as migratory birds, commercially important fishes (e.g., salmon), and marine mammals. In addition, understanding how sea turtles navigate, and how they find their natal regions as adults, may benefit conservation efforts to save these threatened and endangered species from extinction. Results may also reveal new navigational methods relevant to human guidance systems.