Animal migration research takes wing

Lohmann, Kenneth J.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.016

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Despite increasing behavioral evidence for a role of the geomagnetic field as a cue for orientation or navigation in various animal species, the behaviorally-relevant sensory mechanisms and especially the neuronal processing of geomagnetic information still remains elusive (Lohmann, 2018;Mouritsen 2018;Nordmann et al, 2017). Due to the clear role of the magnetic sense in path integration during learning walks, Cataglyphis ants are a highly promising new experimental model for future studies on insect magnetosensation.…”

Section: The Earth's Magnetic Field Is Used As Initial Compass Referencementioning

confidence: 99%

Learning to navigate – how desert ants calibrate their compass systems

2019

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Navigating through the environment is a challenging task that animals cope with on a daily basis. Many animal species have impressive capabilities to navigate in complex or even harsh environments. Cataglyphis desert ants are a famous example. These ants use a remarkable navigational repertoire to find their way home after far-reaching foraging trips. How do naïve ants calibrate their visual navigational systems? The ants perform stereotyped sequences of learning walks before switching from tasks inside the darkness of their nest, to foraging under bright sunlight. Here, naïve ants align nest-directed views using the earth’s magnetic field as a compass reference. Neuronal plasticity was mapped in two visual pathways to higher brain centers during this transition. Both their first exposure to light, and the performance of learning walks lead to distinct changes in synaptic circuits along both visual pathways, reflecting calibration and memory formation in the ants’ visual compass systems.

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Section: The Earth's Magnetic Field Is Used As Initial Compass Referencementioning

confidence: 99%

Learning to navigate – how desert ants calibrate their compass systems

2019

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“…The autumn disappearance and sudden spring return of birds represents the first animal migration that Western science sought to investigate (Lohmann 2018 ). When research on the navigation of migratory birds began in earnest, rapid progress was made in identifying the various compasses that birds use (Wiltschko and Wiltschko 2003 ), but the positional information that birds exploit has remained more elusive.…”

Section: Evidence For Magnetic Mapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Magnetic maps in animal navigation

et al. 2022

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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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“…Small‐scale movements of resident animals have been studied, for example, by examination of home ranges (e.g., Bevanda et al, 2015; Rivers et al, 2014) and habitat selection (e.g., D'Eon & Serrouya, 2005; Doherty et al, 2010). Similarly, large‐scale migratory movements of a variety of species are well known (e.g., Åkesson & Hedenström, 2007; Lohmann, 2018; Sergio et al, 2014). However, “nonroutine” movement types, such as dispersal, prospecting, and nomadism, are not as well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting long‐distance movements of non‐migratory golden eagles: Prospecting and nomadism?

et al. 2022

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Movements by animals can serve different functions and occur over a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Routine movement types, such as residency (localized movements) and migration, have been well studied. However, nonroutine movement types, such as dispersal, prospecting, and nomadism, are less well understood. Documenting these rarely detected events requires tracking large numbers of individuals across all age classes. We studied >500 golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) tracked by telemetry over a 10‐year period in western North America, of which 160 engaged in nonroutine, long‐distance (>300 km) movements. We identified spatial and temporal correlates of those movements at both small and large scales, and we quantified movement timing and direction. We further tested which age and sex classes of eagles were more likely to engage in these movements. Our analysis of 88,093 daily tracks suggested that distances traveled by eagles were responsive to the updraft potential of the spatial and temporal landscape they encountered. Tracks covered longer distances at locations and times of higher updraft potential, and older birds traveled farther than younger birds. By contrast, after decomposing daily tracks into 563 nonroutine, long‐distance movements measured at a multiday scale, only the duration of travel was responsive to environmental conditions encountered by eagles. Multiday trips that were longer were those initiated in open and warm landscapes and those that ended in mountainous regions. Finally, long‐distance movements were more frequently made in seasons other than winter, in north–south directions, and by young birds. We documented clear correlates of nonroutine, long‐distance movements by golden eagles at small, local scales but found little evidence of such correlates at larger, regional scales. Most long‐distance movements we documented fit patterns associated with traditional definitions of prospecting and nomadism but not migration. Our study is the first to describe these movement types by golden eagles, and as such provides a foundation for subsequent study into the movement ecology of other species.

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Animal migration research takes wing

Cited by 18 publications

References 28 publications

Learning to navigate – how desert ants calibrate their compass systems

Learning to navigate – how desert ants calibrate their compass systems

Magnetic maps in animal navigation

Interpreting long‐distance movements of non‐migratory golden eagles: Prospecting and nomadism?

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