Use of a Magnetic Compass for Y-Axis Orientation in Larval Bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana

Freake, Michael J.; Borland, S. Chris; Phillips, John B.

doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[0466:uoamcf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 22 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…With this new finding, up to four species of urodeles (Phillips 1977(Phillips , 1986bDiego-Rasilla 2003;Diego-Rasilla et al 2005) have been proved to rely on magnetic cues for orientation; and this increasing evidence seems to point out that magnetic field perception is a wide-spread sensory capability among urodeles. The Earth's magnetic field is likely to be a valuable source of directional information for amphibians under natural conditions, because it can be available when other types of orientation cues (e.g., celestial cues) are impaired by water turbidity, vegetation or clouds (Freake et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study, the 6 days of training might have allowed larval T. boscai to learn the Y-axis but it might not have been enough time to learn to distinguish between the location of the two ends of the axis. Intensive training may also increase the motivation of amphibians to orient unimodally (Adler and Taylor 1980;Freake et al 2002). We employed a passive training procedure, leaving larvae undisturbed during the training period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether the animals move in a direction corresponding to shore or deeper water depends on the species involved, season and stage in their life cycle (Able 1980). Deep water may provide a refuge to larvae and aquatic adults from predators and temperature variation, whereas shallow water may provide food and it is also likely to be important during seasonal migrations of amphibians in and out of breeding ponds (Freake et al 2002). Amphibians can learn to orient in a fixed compass direction with respect not only to its natural shoreline, but also to artificial shorelines (Deutschlander et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many different sensorial cues are used by amphibians to learn the Y-axis direction, including the use of a sun compass (Ferguson and Landreth 1966;Ferguson et al 1967;Landreth and Ferguson 1968;Adler 1976), sky polarization patterns (Taylor and Ferguson 1970;Taylor 1972;Adler and Taylor 1973;Taylor and Adler 1973;Auburn and Taylor 1979) and a magnetic compass (Phillips 1986b;Deutschlander et al 2000;Freake et al 2002). Like in most groups of vertebrates (Wiltschko and Wiltschko 1995;Diego-Rasilla 2004), the use of the geomagnetic field for orientation seems to be a widespread capability among amphibians (Sinsch 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of a magnetic compass for Y-axis orientation in premetamorphic newts (Triturus boscai)

Rodríguez-García

Diego-Rasilla

2005

J Ethol

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Experiments were carried out to investigate whether premetamorphic larvae of Bosca's newt (Triturus boscai) are capable of using the geomagnetic field for Y-axis orientation (i.e., orientation toward and away from shore). Larvae were trained outdoor in two different training configurations, using one training tank aligned along the magnetic north-south axis, with shore facing north, and another training tank positioned with its length along the east-west axis, with shore located west. After training, premetamorphic newts were tested in an outdoor circular arena surrounded by a pair of orthogonally aligned cube-surface coils used to alter the alignment of the Earth's magnetic field. Each newt was tested only once, in one of four magnetic field alignments: ambient magnetic field (i.e., magnetic north at North), and three altered fields (magnetic north rotated to East, West, South). Distributions of magnetic bearings from tested larvae indicated that they oriented bimodally along the magnetic direction of the trained Yaxis. These findings demonstrate that T. boscai larvae are sensitive to the geomagnetic field and can use it for orienting along a learned Y-axis. This study is the first to provide evidence of Y-axis orientation, accomplished by a magnetic compass, in larval urodeles.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of a magnetic compass for Y-axis orientation in premetamorphic newts (Triturus boscai)

Rodríguez-García

Diego-Rasilla

2005

J Ethol

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“…Magnetoreception can be involved in many aspects of spatial behaviour: as a compass for local and long-distance movements (Wiltschko and Wiltschko, 1972;Landler et al, 2015;Phillips et al, 2013;Diego-Rasilla et al, 2010;Dommer et al, 2008;Freake et al, 2002) as a source of geographic position information (i.e., a magnetic map Phillips, 1986;Philips et al, 1995;Deutschlander et al, 2012) as a reference that reduces errors in path integration (Kimchi et al, 2004;Philips et al, 2010) and potentially as a spherical coordinate system that helps to encode the organism's immediate surrounding and to incorporate local landmark arrays into a global map of familiar space (Landler et al, 2015;Phillips et al, 2010). Consequently, loss of a magnetic sense could impact both long-distance movements (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High levels of maternally transferred mercury disrupt magnetic responses of snapping turtle hatchlings (Chelydra serpentina)

Landler

Painter

Coe

et al. 2017

Environmental Pollution

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a b s t r a c tThe Earth's magnetic field is involved in spatial behaviours ranging from long-distance migration to nongoal directed behaviours, such as spontaneous magnetic alignment (SMA). Mercury is a harmful pollutant most often generated from anthropogenic sources that can bio-accumulate in animal tissue over a lifetime. We compared SMA of hatchling snapping turtles from mothers captured at reference (i.e., low mercury) and mercury contaminated sites. Reference turtles showed radio frequency-dependent SMA along the north-south axis, consistent with previous studies of SMA, while turtles with high levels of maternally inherited mercury failed to show consistent magnetic alignment. In contrast, there was no difference between reference and mercury exposed turtles on standard performance measures. The magnetic field plays an important role in animal orientation behaviour and may also help to integrate spatial information from a variety of sensory modalities. As a consequence, mercury may compromise the performance of turtles in a wide variety of spatial tasks. Future research is needed to determine the threshold for mercury effects on snapping turtles, whether mercury exposure compromises spatial behaviour of adult turtles, and whether mercury has a direct effect on the magnetoreception mechanism(s) that mediate SMA or a more general effect on the nervous system.

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Light-dependent magnetic compass in Iberian green frog tadpoles

Diego-Rasilla

Luengo²,

Phillips

2010

Naturwissenschaften

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Here, we provide evidence for a wavelength-dependent effect of light on magnetic compass orientation in Pelophylax perezi (order Anura), similar to that observed in Rana catesbeiana (order Anura) and Notophthalmus viridescens (order Urodela), and confirm for the first time in an anuran amphibian that a 90° shift in the direction of magnetic compass orientation under long-wavelength light (≥ 500 nm) is due to a direct effect of light on the underlying magnetoreception mechanism. Although magnetic compass orientation in other animals (e.g., birds and some insects) has been shown to be influenced by the wavelength and/or intensity of light, these two amphibian orders are the only taxa for which there is direct evidence that the magnetic compass is light-dependent. The remarkable similarities in the light-dependent magnetic compasses of anurans and urodeles, which have evolved as separate clades for at least 250 million years, suggest that the light-dependent magnetoreception mechanism is likely to have evolved in the common ancestor of the Lissamphibia (Early Permian, ~294 million years) and, possibly, much earlier. Also, we discuss a number of similarities between the functional properties of the light-dependent magnetic compass in amphibians and blue light-dependent responses to magnetic stimuli in Drosophila melanogaster, which suggest that the wavelength-dependent 90° shift in amphibians may be due to light activation of different redox forms of a cryptochrome photopigment. Finally, we relate these findings to earlier studies showing that the pineal organ of newts is the site of the light-dependent magnetic compass and recent neurophysiological evidence showing magnetic field sensitivity in the frog frontal organ (an outgrowth of the pineal).

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Use of a Magnetic Compass for Y-Axis Orientation in Larval Bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

Use of a magnetic compass for Y-axis orientation in premetamorphic newts (Triturus boscai)

Use of a magnetic compass for Y-axis orientation in premetamorphic newts (Triturus boscai)

High levels of maternally transferred mercury disrupt magnetic responses of snapping turtle hatchlings (Chelydra serpentina)

Light-dependent magnetic compass in Iberian green frog tadpoles

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