Mathematical analysis of the navigational process in homing pigeons

Schiffner, Ingo; Baumeister, Johann; Wiltschko, Roswitha

doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.09.009

Cited by 14 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…This is the first experimental evidence that the correlation dimension directly reflects changes in the navigational processes and suggests that the method described earlier (Schiffner et al, 2011) can be successfully applied to detect such changes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Instead, they appear to continue using sun compass information, yet downgrade it, probably in favour of the magnetic compass. This is suggested by the small decrease in short-term correlation dimension observed in the clock-shifted pigeons -had the sun compass been dropped altogether, we would have expected a somewhat larger decrease (see Schiffner et al, 2011). It seems that clock-shifted pigeons gradually increase the weighting of their magnetic compass, but never fully ignore the information provided by the sun.…”

Section: Navigating To the Loftmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…For the system analysis, we calculated short-term correlation dimensions for the tracks by means of time-lag embedding (a brief summary of the procedure is given in the Appendix) (see Schiffner et al, 2011). In contrast to the true correlation dimension of a track based on all data points, it was calculated as sliding mean over 180 s and averaged for each 500 m step from the release site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Immediately after release, when pigeons still fly around in the vicinity of the release point, the mean short-term correlation dimensions are rather low, too low to indicate complex navigational processes (Schiffner et al, 2011). This is in agreement with the assumption that the initial phase itself plays little role with regard to making a navigational decision, but rather serves for preparing for the flight, like gaining height and speed, and possibly also for exploring the surroundings, as also suggested in earlier studies (Schiffner and Wiltschko, 2009;Schiffner et al, 2013).…”

Section: The Initial Phase Of the Homing Flightmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…are not yet concerned with navigating (see Schiffner et al, 2011), and therefore clock shifting appears to have little effect on the behaviour during this phase. Only at BD, the site our pigeons knew from several previous homing flights, did we find a significant deflection of the experimental birds from the controls, not only in the initial phase but also throughout the homing flight.…”

Section: Research Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

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Following the Sun: a mathematical analysis of the tracks of clock-shifted homing pigeons

Schiffner

Siegmund

Wiltschko

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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We analysed the tracks of clock-shifted pigeons from six releases to determine how they cope with the conflict between their sun compass and other navigational cues. Time-lag embedding was used to calculate the short-term correlation dimension, a parameter that reflects the complexity of the navigational system, and with it, the number of factors involved. Initially, while pigeons were still at the release site, the short-term correlation dimension was low; it increased as the birds left the site, indicating that the birds were now actively navigating. Clock-shifted pigeons showed more scatter than the control birds, and their short-term correlation dimension became significantly smaller than that of the controls, remaining lower until the experimental birds reached their loft. This difference was small, but consistent, and suggests a different rating and ranking of the navigational cues. Clock-shifted pigeons do not seem to simply ignore the information from their manipulated sun compass altogether, but appear to merely downgrade it in favour of other cues, like their magnetic compass. This is supported by the observation that the final part of the tracks still showed a small deviation in the expected direction, indicating an effect of clock-shifting until the end of the homing flight.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Navigating To the Loftmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Initial Phase Of the Homing Flightmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Research Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

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Following the Sun: a mathematical analysis of the tracks of clock-shifted homing pigeons

Schiffner

Siegmund

Wiltschko

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Mathematical analysis of the homing flights of pigeons based on GPS tracks

et al. 2016

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To analyse the effect of magnetic and olfactory deprivation on the homing flight of pigeons, we released birds from a familiar site with either their upper beak or their nostrils anaesthetized. The tracks were analysed by time lag embedding to calculate the short-term correlation dimension, a variable that reflects the degrees of freedom and thus the number of factors involved in a system. We found that higher natural fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field characterized by A -indices of 8 and above caused a reduction of the correlation dimension of the control birds. We thus separated the data into two groups according to whether they were recorded on magnetically quiet days or on days with higher magnetic fluctuations. Anaesthetizing the upper beak had no significant effect. Making pigeons anosmic reduced the correlation dimension on magnetically quiet days, but did not cause any reduction on days with higher fluctuations. Altogether, our data suggest an involvement of magnetic cues and olfactory factors during the homing flight and point to a robust, multi-factorial map.

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A reinterpretation of “Homing pigeons’ flight over and under low stratus” based on atmospheric propagation modeling of infrasonic navigational cues

Hagstrum

2018

J Comp Physiol A

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Mathematical analysis of the navigational process in homing pigeons

Cited by 14 publications

References 39 publications

Following the Sun: a mathematical analysis of the tracks of clock-shifted homing pigeons

Following the Sun: a mathematical analysis of the tracks of clock-shifted homing pigeons

Mathematical analysis of the homing flights of pigeons based on GPS tracks

A reinterpretation of “Homing pigeons’ flight over and under low stratus” based on atmospheric propagation modeling of infrasonic navigational cues

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