In their journey Reed warblers utilize magnetic information to act as a stop signal'. They use the magnetic inclination of their feet in particular signalling the birds that they've arrived to their final destination. Credit: Thomas Miller
A study that was published on the 21st of April in Science has revealed the way in which birds find their breeding grounds after traveling over two continents.
The research, which is part of an international collaborative led by researchers from Oxford University University of Oxford and including researchers of Oldenburg University. University of Oldenburg, suggests that the data gathered from the earth's magnetic field can tell birds where and when they should stop their migration. This lets them precisely target the same breeding location year after year across thousands of miles.
The way that birds perceive magnetic field on Earth has been the focus of extensive research. Birds may even be able to see magnetic fields and may utilize this capability to identify the direction they're to and also where they're.
Professor. Joe Wynn, formerly of the University of Oxford and now an investigator in the Institute for Avian Research, Germany said"that "whilst we know an increasing amount about how birds inherit migratory information from their parents, how they return to the same site year-on-year with pinpoint accuracy has remained elusive. It's quite exciting, therefore, that we've been able to find evidence that magnetic cues could be used by songbirds trying to re-locate their homes." He first came up with the idea to study the issue during his time as an invited scientist within the biologist's research group Dr. Dr. Henrik Mouritsen at the University of Oldenburg. Mouritsen was also involved in the analysis of data in the research.
You've arrived in your desired location
The researchers analyzed the data of over 18,000 Reed warblers to determine if they used magnetic field of the Earth when they found their breeding grounds. Reed warblers are tiny birds that travel over their territory across the Sahara Desert each year to spend the summer in Europe.
They discovered that, when the magnetic field of Earth changed the places that birds returned to changed which suggests that birds retreated to a magnetic target that was moving. Birds seemed to utilize magnetic information to act as a stop sign', and the magnetic inclination of particular telling birds they had arrived at their breeding area.
The project utilized 'ringing' information. For more than a century the rings, which are uniquely numbered, have been affixed to legs of birds from all over Europe.
Dr. Wynn added that "Ringing data are a fantastic way to answer questions about migration, simply because they've been gathered for so many years across a very large area...and when looking at where birds and ringed and then recovered, it seems that reed warblers use a single magnetic coordinate a bit like a 'stop sign'; when they reach the right magnetic field value, they stop migrating."
Why should we use magnetic fields to aid in how to return?
Dr. Wynn explains that "Magnetic information seems to be pretty stable, meaning the magnetic field doesn't change very much in a given location year-on-year. Aiming for a specific magnetic value during migration might make sense then, and the cue we think birds are using, inclination, appears the most stable aspect of the magnetic field. We think this gives the birds the best chance of making it back to the breeding site."
In the end, Dr. Wynn said that "the trans-continental migration of birds that weigh less than a teaspoon is remarkable for so many reasons, but the ability to precisely pinpoint the breeding site from half the world away is perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of all. That we can investigate this using data gathered by scientists and bird-watchers alike is extremely exciting, and we hope that this use of citizen science data inspires others to go out, watch birds and get excited about science more generally."
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