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When they first figured out that turtles use magnetic fields to navigate, they placed them in kiddie swimming pools in someone's backyard and placed large elect
by acyou 2y ago
When they first figured out that turtles use magnetic fields to navigate, they placed them in kiddie swimming pools in someone's backyard and placed large electromagnets next to the swimming pools. Multiple turtles reliably oriented themselves according to the magnetic field direction corresponding with their seasonal migration direction.
This paper is claiming something different, something to do with a particular magnetic field having a behavioral association.
Lot of question marks and need for some more context. Why would turtles evolve the dancing behavior? Does it have to do with the kind of food they eat and how they get that food? No, turtles did not evolve like dogs to dance and do tricks for food.
- gwerbret 2y ago> Multiple turtles reliably oriented themselves according to the magnetic field direction corresponding with their seasonal migration direction. This paper is claiming something different, something to do with a particular magnetic field having a behavioral association. The paper (which is here [0] by the way, they failed to provide a link in the article) indicates that these turtles have been known to orient themselves using magnetic fields. The new finding is that they're also able to use magnetic fields as a map -- they can identify a location based on its specific magnetic fields. And apparently, the "mapping" involves a different neurobiological mechanism from the "orientation". 0: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08554-y https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08554-y