Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
17
pubmed:dateCreated
2005-9-5
pubmed:abstractText
Advanced spatial-learning adaptations have been shown for migratory songbirds, but it is not well known how the simple genetic program encoding migratory distance and direction in young birds translates to a navigation mechanism used by adults. A number of convenient cues are available to define latitude on the basis of geomagnetic and celestial information, but very few are useful to defining longitude. To investigate the effects of displacements across longitudes on orientation, we recorded orientation of adult and juvenile migratory white-crowned sparrows, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii, after passive longitudinal displacements, by ship, of 266-2862 km across high-arctic North America. After eastward displacement to the magnetic North Pole and then across the 0 degrees declination line, adults and juveniles abruptly shifted their orientation from the migratory direction to a direction that would lead back to the breeding area or to the normal migratory route, suggesting that the birds began compensating for the displacement by using geomagnetic cues alone or together with solar cues. In contrast to predictions by a simple genetic migration program, our experiments suggest that both adults and juveniles possess a navigation system based on a combination of celestial and geomagnetic information, possibly declination, to correct for eastward longitudinal displacements.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
0960-9822
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
6
pubmed:volume
15
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1591-7
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2005
pubmed:articleTitle
Dramatic orientation shift of white-crowned sparrows displaced across longitudes in the high Arctic.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Animal Ecology, Lund University, Ecology Building, SE-223 62 Lund, Sweden. susanne.akesson@zooekol.lu.se
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't