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Orientation in Migrating Animals: Role of Biological Clocks

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Biological Timekeeping: Clocks, Rhythms and Behaviour

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Abstract

How migrating animals find their direction to reach migratory destination is an important question of wildlife migration. Animals use a variety of geophysical cues such as the sun compass, stellar constellation, and geomagnetic field of the Earth to accomplish this feat. Endogenous clocks facilitate, to some extent, the challenge of heading toward the right direction. Whereas extensive body of research has focused on the biophysical and neurobiological mechanisms, relatively less is known of the extent of involvement of biological clocks in the migratory orientation. Studies on the innate capability of first year migrants and experimentally displaced experienced migrants to correctly reach their destination indicate that an endogenous time program controls spontaneous changes during the course of migratory journey. Here, we intend to briefly summarize the orientation studies in animals, with emphasis placed on the role of biological clocks in the avian orientation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Vinod Kumar for suggestions and comments on the manuscript. Financial assistance to NJG (SR/SO/AS-69/2011) and SKB (SR/SO/AS-70/2011) from Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, MMH College, Ghaziabad, 201 009, UP, India

    Neelu Jain Gupta

  2. Department of Zoology, Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110 003, India

    Vatsala Dwivedi

  3. Department of Science and Technology, Technology Bhawan, New Delhi, 110 016, India

    Bhanu P. Singh

  4. Department of Zoology, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, 250 004, India

    Sanjay K. Bhardwaj

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  1. Neelu Jain Gupta
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  2. Vatsala Dwivedi
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Correspondence to Neelu Jain Gupta .

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

    Vinod Kumar

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Gupta, N.J., Dwivedi, V., Singh, B.P., Bhardwaj, S.K. (2017). Orientation in Migrating Animals: Role of Biological Clocks. In: Kumar, V. (eds) Biological Timekeeping: Clocks, Rhythms and Behaviour. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-3688-7_31

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