Wiltschko, Wolfgang

Munro, Ursula

Ford, Hugh A

Wiltschko, Roswitha

2009

Migratory silvereyes treated with a strong magnetic pulse shift their headings by approximately 90°, indicating an involvement of magnetite-based receptors in the orientation process. Structures containing superparamagnetic magnetite have been described in the inner skin at the edges of the upper beak of birds, while single-domain magnetite particles are indicated in the nasal cavity. To test which of these structures mediate the pulse effect, we subjected migratory silvereyes, 'Zosterops l. lateralis', to a strong pulse, and then tested their orientation, while the skin of their upper beak was anaesthetized with a local anaesthetic to temporarily deactivate the magnetite-containing structures there. After the pulse, birds without anaesthesia showed the typical shift, whereas when their beak was anaesthetized, they maintained their original headings. This indicates that the superparamagnetic magnetite-containing structures in the skin of the upper beak are most likely the magnetoreceptors that cause the change in headings observed after pulse treatment.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1665), p. 2227-2232

1471-2954

0962-8452

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/4965

en

The Royal Society Publishing

Avian orientation: the pulse effect is mediated by the magnetite receptors in the upper beak

Journal Article

Publication