The magnetic compass of domestic chickens,<i>Gallus gallus</i>

Wiltschko, Wolfgang; Freire, Rafael; Munro, Ursula; Ritz, Thorsten; Rogers, Lesley J.; Thalau, Peter; Wiltschko, Roswitha

doi:10.1242/jeb.004853

Cited by 94 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(31 reference statements)

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“…Alternatively, the disorientation of the zebra finches under 461 nm blue light could also be related to the spectral properties of the blue LEDs. The peak wavelength of our blue light was shifted about 20-40 nm towards longer wavelengths than the blue light spectra used previously in orientation experiments with European robins, garden warblers and Australian silvereyes ( peak wavelengths at 424 and 443 nm) (Wiltschko et al, 1993(Wiltschko et al, , 2003(Wiltschko et al, , 2007bWiltschko, 1999, 2001;Rappl et al, 2000; for an exception, see Wiltschko et al, 2007a) (Tables S1 and S2). Therefore, we trained and tested the zebra finches under high-intensity 430 nm indigo light.…”

Section: High-intensity Light Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…We initially used three different monochromatic lights in the blue (461 nm), green (521 nm) and red (638 nm) spectrum to evaluate whether magnetic compass orientation in zebra finches was wavelength dependent, as has previously been reported for migratory songbirds, homing pigeons and chickens (Muheim et al, 2002;Johnsen et al, 2007;Wiltschko et al, 2007aWiltschko et al, , 2010. We expected oriented behaviour towards the trained magnetic compass direction in zebra finches trained and tested under blue and green light, and disoriented behaviour or 90 deg-shifted orientation in birds tested under red light.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cryptochromes are the only known vertebrate photopigments to form long-lived, spin-correlated radical pairs upon light excitation (Ritz et al, 2000). They have been reported in several animal groups, including insects (Emery et al, 1998;Gegear et al, 2010), amphibians (Eun et al, 2003), birds (Mouritsen et al, 2004;Möller et al, 2004;Wiltschko et al, 2007a;Liedvogel and Mouritsen, 2010;Nießner et al, 2013;Fusani et al, 2014;Du et al, 2014) and mammals (van der Horst et al, 1999;Avivi et al, 2004). The light-absorbing cofactor of cryptochromes, flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), exists in three redox states with different absorption spectra ( Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Young, inexperienced homing pigeons (Columba livia) were unable to orient towards home when transported to the release site in complete darkness or under red light (650 nm), but were well oriented when transported under green (565 nm) or full-spectrum light Wiltschko, 1981, 1998). Domestic chickens (Gallus gallus), trained to relocate a social stimulus using their magnetic compass, showed oriented behaviour under blue light (465 nm), but not under red light (645 nm) (Wiltschko et al, 2007a). European robins, Australian silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis) and garden warblers (Sylvia borin) were found to be oriented towards the expected migratory direction when tested for magnetic compass orientation in funnels under full-spectrum, UV, blue, turquoise or green light (373-565 nm) (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Zebra finches have a light-dependent magnetic compass similar to migratory birds

Pinzon-Rodriguez

Muheim

2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Birds have a light-dependent magnetic compass that provides information about the spatial alignment of the geomagnetic field. It is proposed to be located in the avian retina and mediated by a lightinduced, radical-pair mechanism involving cryptochromes as sensory receptor molecules. To investigate how the behavioural responses of birds under different light spectra match with cryptochromes as the primary magnetoreceptor, we examined the spectral properties of the magnetic compass in zebra finches. We trained birds to relocate a food reward in a spatial orientation task using magnetic compass cues. The birds were well oriented along the trained magnetic compass axis when trained and tested under low-irradiance 521 nm green light. In the presence of a 1.4 MHz radio-frequency electromagnetic (RF)-field, the birds were disoriented, which supports the involvement of radical-pair reactions in the primary magnetoreception process. Birds trained and tested under 638 nm red light showed a weak tendency to orient ∼45 deg clockwise of the trained magnetic direction. Under low-irradiance 460 nm blue light, they tended to orient along the trained magnetic compass axis, but were disoriented under higher irradiance light. Zebra finches trained and tested under high-irradiance 430 nm indigo light were well oriented along the trained magnetic compass axis, but disoriented in the presence of a RF-field. We conclude that magnetic compass responses of zebra finches are similar to those observed in nocturnally migrating birds and agree with cryptochromes as the primary magnetoreceptor, suggesting that light-dependent, radicalpair-mediated magnetoreception is a common property for all birds, including non-migratory species.

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Section: High-intensity Light Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Zebra finches have a light-dependent magnetic compass similar to migratory birds

Pinzon-Rodriguez

Muheim

2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…This has been interpreted as the possible lateralization of the perception mechanisms for magnetic cues in favour of the right eye. Wiltschko et al (2007) showed that in a magnetic field with North shifted by 90°, chicks using their right eye oriented according to magnetic cues, whereas chicks using the left eye did not and continued to prefer the original direction. Analysis of the times taken to respond to magnetic cues indicated longer latencies in the chicks using their left eye (Rogers et al, 2008).…”

Section: Photoreceptor-based Magnetoreception Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of Avian Magnetic Orientation

Rizak¹,

Yi²

2009

Zoological Research

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Among the most fascinating mysteries of life is the interaction between biological systems and the earth's magnetic field. Although earth's magnetism may have an under appreciated role in biological interpretations, it has been most extensively studied in the processes of avian orientation and migration. Many species of bird are known to have behavioral responses to the earth's and artificial magnetic fields. These responses may be mediated by a number of potential magneto-biochemical processes. The two most commonly investigated include a magnetosensitive magnetite rich region in the upper beak area and a photo/magnetoreception process in the eyes of various bird species. In addition to external magnetic stimuli, recent findings in visually restricted birds have described a hemispherically lateralized interpretation of this information within the brain. Even with these findings, a considerable amount of work is needed to clarify what information is processed and how it is used to create the bird's magnetic compass. This review focuses these recently published findings as a means to assess this intriguing phenomenon.

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The radical pair mechanism and the avian chemical compass: Quantum coherence and entanglement

Zhang

Berman

Kais

2015

Int J of Quantum Chemistry

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We review the spin radical pair mechanism which is a promising explanation of avian navigation. This mechanism is based on the dependence of product yields on (1) the hyperfine interaction involving electron spins and neighboring nuclear spins and (2) the intensity and orientation of the geomagnetic field. This review describes the general scheme of chemical reactions involving radical pairs generated from singlet and triplet precursors; the spin dynamics of the radical pairs; and the magnetic field dependence of product yields caused by the radical pair mechanism. The main part of the review includes a description of the chemical compass in birds. We review: the general properties of the avian compass; the basic scheme of the radical pair mechanism; the reaction kinetics in cryptochrome; quantum coherence and entanglement in the avian compass; and the effects of noise. We believe that the quantum avian compass can play an important role in avian navigation and can also provide the foundation for a new generation of sensitive and selective magnetic-sensing nanodevices. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/qua.24943 Radical Pair Mechanism IntroductionA radical is an atom, molecule or ion that has unpaired valence electrons. Radicals and radical pairs often play a very important role as intermediates in thermal, radiation, and photochemical reactions. [1] The presence of unpaired electron spins in these systems allows one to influence and control these reactions using interactions between external magnetic fields and electron spins. [2] However, until 1970, most scientists believed that ordinary magnetic fields had no significant effect on chemical or biochemical reactions, as the magnetic energy of typical molecules, under ordinary magnetic fields, is much smaller than the thermal energy at room temperature and is much smaller than the activation energies for those reactions. [1,2] This situation changed significantly in the 1970s after a series of experimental results were reported on magnetic field effects on chemical reactions. [3][4][5][6][7] Because of these experimental studies, a number of researchers have made an effort to theoretically explain the magnetic field effects on the chemical reactions. [8,9] Thanks to these and the subsequent efforts, we are now able to explain systematically magnetic field effects in terms of the radical pair mechanism. The radical pair mechanism was then successfully applied to explain the chemically induced nuclear polarization and electron polarization, which were shown to be based on the spin dynamics of radical pairs. [2] According to the radical pair mechanism, an external magnetic field affects chemical reactions by alternating the electron spin state of a weakly coupled radical pair, which is produced as an intermediate. The basic scheme of chemical reactions through the radical pairs is shown in Figure 1. Radical pairs are usually produced as short-lived intermediates through decomposition, electron transfer, or hydrogen transfer reactions from singlet or tr...

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The magnetic compass of domestic chickens,Gallus gallus

Cited by 94 publications

References 35 publications

Zebra finches have a light-dependent magnetic compass similar to migratory birds

Zebra finches have a light-dependent magnetic compass similar to migratory birds

Mechanisms of Avian Magnetic Orientation

The radical pair mechanism and the avian chemical compass: Quantum coherence and entanglement

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