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Scientific Thoughts

The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility - Albert Einstein

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Many species of birds migrate long distances every year. Not only do they migrate over tens of thousands of miles, they almost always fly an exact route. The route is often independent of the landmarks they might fly over; for example, birds have been found to fly along some ancient riverbed, as if faithfully executing a pattern transferred from generation to generation:).

Chicken Family :D (Courtesy: PhysOrg)
It has been known for some time that many species of birds use the Earth's magnetic field to select a direction of movement. However, although such birds clearly have a sense of direction, until now it has not been possible to train birds to move in a certain direction in the laboratory, even if they are motivated by a food reward. The reasons for this failure have been perplexing, but researchers now report that they have been able to successfully accomplish this training task, providing new insight into the evolution of magnetic sensing and opening new opportunities for further study of magnetoreception:):).
In the new work, researchers including Rafael Freire from the University of New England, Australia, Wolfgang Wiltschko and Roswitha Wiltschko from the University of Frankfurt, Germany, and Ursula Munro from the University of Technology in Sydney, demonstrated for the first time that birds could be trained to respond to a magnetic direction. The researchers trained domestic chicks to find an object that was associated with imprinting and was behind one of four screens placed in the corners of a square apparatus, and, crucially, showed that the chicks' direction of movement during searching for the hidden imprinting stimulus was influenced by shifting the magnetic field.
It is expected that this work will facilitate current efforts to understand how birds detect the magnetic field, because the new approach does not rely on complex behaviors, such as migration or homing, that are difficult to study in the laboratory and are dependent on the time of year. The work also shows that the ability to orient with magnetic cues is not only present in an ancient avian lineage dating back to the Cretaceous period, but has also been retained in a nonmigrating bird after thousands of years of domestication:):):).

Magnetic Chickens

8/21/2005   7 comments Post a Comment

7 Comments:

At August 25, 2005 12:59 PM, Blogger Sray said...
The chickens demonstrated a, ahemm, magnetic personality :D:D.
 
At August 25, 2005 11:12 PM, Blogger Unknown said...
If they can pass down routes across generations, there should be something that codes for the map in their genome!

Do u have any idea of how the maps are modified across generations. i.e. they change routes due to some obstacle or something.
 
At August 25, 2005 11:25 PM, Blogger Sray said...
As far as I know, it is part genome, and part training. Young birds fly with their flock, and memorize the route. But the ability to memorize and retrieve and sometimes adapt, is all by virtue of the genetic program.

Suppose there is a obstacle, then the birds that cannot cope with it will die out, and the others would survive as they go around the obstacle!
 
At August 26, 2005 2:33 AM, Blogger Unknown said...
If we can somehow prevent the bird to follow the flock, and drive it out, we can see whether the map is inherited or acquired.

I somehow feel that the migratory instincts are so important for survival, that it may be transferred genetically.

Some behaviors are proven to be inherited genetically (e.g. Male courtship behavior in drosophila. Cell, May 2005). This could be one such thing
 
At August 26, 2005 5:16 PM, Blogger Sray said...
A lot of insect behavior is genetic. However, a lot of the bird behavior is not genetic, or at least it needs parental triggering. For example, birds raised in capitivity do not know how/where to migrate, and have to be trained for that.
 
At September 07, 2005 9:45 AM, Blogger wise donkey said...
absolutely fascinating:)
 
At December 29, 2012 7:05 AM, Anonymous richymine said...
Nice and fascinating... good job and thanks for the info.
 

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