Die Sonnenorientierung der Vögel. II. Entwicklung des Sonnenkompaß und sein Stellenwert im Orientierungssystem

Wiltschko, Roswitha

doi:10.1007/bf01643440

Cited by 28 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Compelling evidence for sun-compass orientation has also been provided by homing experiments with pigeons, Columba livia domesticus (reviewed in [11][12][13]). Vanishing bearings of homing pigeons, whose clocks were reset either clockwise or anticlockwise, were deflected relative to control birds in accordance with the direction and magnitude predicted by the use of a time-compensated sun compass (e.g.…”

Section: Are Polarized Light Cues Part Of the Avian Sun Compass?mentioning

confidence: 98%

Behavioural and physiological mechanisms of polarized light sensitivity in birds

Muheim

2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Polarized light (PL) sensitivity is relatively well studied in a large number of invertebrates and some fish species, but in most other vertebrate classes, including birds, the behavioural and physiological mechanism of PL sensitivity remains one of the big mysteries in sensory biology. Many organisms use the skylight polarization pattern as part of a sun compass for orientation, navigation and in spatial orientation tasks. In birds, the available evidence for an involvement of the skylight polarization pattern in sun-compass orientation is very weak. Instead, cue-conflict and cue-calibration experiments have shown that the skylight polarization pattern near the horizon at sunrise and sunset provides birds with a seasonally and latitudinally independent compass calibration reference. Despite convincing evidence that birds use PL cues for orientation, direct experimental evidence for PL sensitivity is still lacking. Avian double cones have been proposed as putative PL receptors, but detailed anatomical and physiological evidence will be needed to conclusively describe the avian PL receptor. Intriguing parallels between the functional and physiological properties of PL reception and light-dependent magnetoreception could point to a common receptor system.

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Section: Are Polarized Light Cues Part Of the Avian Sun Compass?mentioning

confidence: 98%

Behavioural and physiological mechanisms of polarized light sensitivity in birds

Muheim

2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…These include data from studies already published (e.g. Wiltschko 1980Wiltschko , 1981Wiltschko 1980, 1981;Wiltschko et al 1990;Ffiller et al 1983;Kumpfmiiller and Wiltschko 1993) and a number of yet unpublished releases. The majority of releases were completed in one day; on 32 occasions a release had to be continued on a second or third day.…”

Section: Data Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pigeon homing: the effect of a clock-shift is often smaller than predicted

Wiltschko

Kumpfmüller

Muth

et al. 1994

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Pigeon homing: the effect of a clock-shift is often smaller than predictedAbstraet This analysis is based on 103 releases with 6-h clock-shifted pigeons of various ages and experiences. Resetting the internal clock normally leads to a significant change in initial orientation; however, in half of the cases, the induced deflections are significantly smaller than predicted by the sun compass hypothesis. The relative size of the deflections decreases with increasing age and experience (Fig. 3). Only young pigeons with limited experience respond as expected, while old birds show deflections which are, on the average, only slightly more than half of the predicted size, except at extremely familiar sites (Table 2). There is no difference between fast and slow shifts (Fig. 4). It is not possible to clearly specify under what circumstances smaller deflections occur; previous clock-shifts (Fig. 5), familiarity with the release site ( Table 4) and duration of the shifting procedure (Table 5) do not seem to be the reasons. Clock-shifting also tends to decrease the vector lengths and has a marked effect on homing performance (Table 7). Nevertheless, considerable numbers of clock-shifted birds return on the day of release before their internal clock has begun to be reset back to normal. The general role of the sun compass in bird orientation is considered and theoretical implications of our findings are discussed in view of the 'map and compass'-model and the possibility that an alternative, non-time-compensating compass is used in parallel with the sun compass.

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“…Die Lernvorg~inge, die den SonnenkompaB erstellen, finden bei Brieftauben spontan etwa im dritten Lebensmonat statt, dann, wenn die jungen Tauben beginnen, ihre Ausfltige um den Schlag auszudehnen (R. Wiltschko & Wiltschko 1981 …”

Section: Zeitpunkt Und Art Der Lernprozesseunclassified

“…B. Schmidt-Koenig 1961;Graue 1963;Keeton 1969;R. Wiltschko & Wiltschko 1981;Neuss & Wallraff 1988;Schmidt-Koenig et al 1991;R.…”

Section: Die Rolle Des Sonnenkompal3 Im Orientierungssystemunclassified

“…Bei Zugv6geln sprechen die Ergebnisse daffir, dab den Sonnenuntergangsfaktoren bei Nachtziehem eine vergleichsweise groge Bedeutung zukommt, denn die V6gel zeigten zumindest bei Vorverstellung der Inneren Uhr zun~ichst die erwarteten Abweichungen (Able & Cherry 1986;Helbig 1991). Bei Tagziehern liel3 sich dagegen eine Sonnenkompagorientierung auger beim Star im Frfihjahr nicht nachweisen (R. Wiltschko 1980Wiltschko , 1981. Gelbgesichtshonigfresser, die wiederholt getestet wurden, kehrten nach dem 4.…”

Section: Gges Honigfresser Sonneunclassified

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Das Orientierungssystem der Vögel I. Kompaßmechanismen

Wiltschko

1999

J. Ornithol.

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SummaryThe orientation system of birds -I. Compass mechanismsBecause of the large distances involved, birds establish contact with their goal indirectly via an external reference. Hence any navigation is a two-step process: in the first step, the direction to the goal is determined as a compass course; in the second step, this course is located with a compass. The geomagnetic field and celestial cues provide birds with compass information. The magnetic compass of birds, the sun compass the star compass and the interactions between the compass mechanisms are described in the present paper. Magnetic compass orientation was first demonstrated by testing night-migrating birds in experimentally altered magnetic fields: the birds changed their directional tendencies according to the deflected North direction. The avian magnetic compass proved to be an inclination compass: it does not use polarity; instead it is based on the axial course of the field lines and their inclination in space, distinguishing "poleward" and "equatorward" rather than North and South. Its functional range is limited to intensities around the local field strength, but this biological window is flexible and can be adjusted to other intensifies. The magnetic compass is an innate mechanism that is widely used in bird migration and in homing. Its most important role, however, is that of a basic reference system for calibrating other kinds of orientation cues. Sun compass orientation is demonstrated by clock-shift experiments: Shifting the birds' internal clock causes them to misjudge the position of the sun, thus leading to typical deflections which indicate sun compass use. The analysis of the avian sun compass revealed that it is based only on sun azimuth and the internal clock; the sun's altitude is not involved. The role of the pattern of polarized light associated with the sun is unclear; only at sunset has it been shown to be an important cue for nocturnal migrants, being part of the sun compass. The sun compass is based on experience; sun azimuth, time of day and direction are combined by learning processes during a sensitive period, with the magnetic compass serving as directional reference. When established, the sun compass becomes the preferred compass mechanism for orientation tasks within the home region and homing: in migration, however, its role is minimal, probably because of the changes of the sun's arc with geographic latitude. The star compass was demonstrated in night-migrating birds by projecting the northern stars in different directions in a planetarium. The analysis of the mechanism revealed that the internal clock is not involved; birds derive directions from the spatial relationship of the star configurations. The star compass is also established by experience; the directional reference is first provided by celestial rotation, later, during migration, by the magnetic compass. The relative importance of the various compass mechanisms has been tested in experiments in which celestial and magnetic cues gave conflicting informati...

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Die Sonnenorientierung der Vögel. II. Entwicklung des Sonnenkompaß und sein Stellenwert im Orientierungssystem

Cited by 28 publications

References 76 publications

Behavioural and physiological mechanisms of polarized light sensitivity in birds

Behavioural and physiological mechanisms of polarized light sensitivity in birds

Pigeon homing: the effect of a clock-shift is often smaller than predicted

Das Orientierungssystem der Vögel I. Kompaßmechanismen

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