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The magnetic compass mechanism of birds and its possible association with the shifting course directions of migrants

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Summary

Many birds of the northern hemisphere shift their migratory course to more southerly directions when moving from northern to southern latitudes. Birds from Central Europe, for example, change their course from SW to S or from SE to S respectively (Fig. 1). This also seems to apply to some other animals.

The hypothesis presented here explains the observed shifts in migratory direction on the basis of changes in the parameters of the earth's magnetic field and hence would make a genetic fixation of shifts in the migratory direction unnecessary.

To determine the direction of migration birds do not refer to the polarity of the magnetic field but to its dip (=γ). According to the hypothesis presented here, the birds, however, do not refer to the direction of dip as previously believed but to the individual apparent angle of dip (=γ′), this angle changes depending on the heading of the bird (see Fig. 3 and Eq. 1). Maintaining a species specific or population specific γ′ the bird will move in its predetermined migratory direction. Changes in the dip of the earth's magnetic field correspond to changes in latitude. According to the hypothesis with γ′ fixed, the migratory direction will change when the dip changes. Given the hypothesis and the parameters of the earth's field theoretical migratory paths of birds between summer and winter quarters may be calculated (Figs. 8–11). The calculated tracks and the actually observed migratory routes agree well. This is also confirmed by radar and other observations of migratory directions in areas of different dip angles (Fig. 13). Displacing migrating birds to areas of smaller dip angles (= lower magnetic latitudes) results in predeterminable shifts in the birds migratory direction (Figs. 5, 6). The hypothesis also accounts for the so far unexplained orientation behaviour of transequatorial migrants under the magnetic equator.

A very simple model of this hypothetical compass mechanism may be based on the assumption of the sensor axis is supposed to correspond to the apparent angle of dip when moving in the migratory direction. In this position the difference between the apparent angle of dip and the angle of the sensor is zero. Any change in the direction of movement, however, will result in a difference leading to a response of an assumed receptor. When maintaining the zero difference the bird invariably sticks to its migratory course. The proposed mechanism is a null instrument unaffected by changes in field intensity and not depending on the measurement of absolute values.

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  1. Abteilung Verhaltensphysiologie am Institut für Zoophysiologie, Biologie III, Universität Tübingen, Beim Kupferhammer 8, D-7400, Tübingen, Federal Republic of Germany

    Jacob Kiepenheuer

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Kiepenheuer, J. The magnetic compass mechanism of birds and its possible association with the shifting course directions of migrants. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 14, 81–99 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00291900

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