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How sea turtles learn locations using Earth’s magnetic field: research

35 points by hhs 11mo ago

cellular 11mo ago
If a magnet were attached to the turtle, would it lose its sense of direction?
- dilawar 11mo ago
  It should. Original paper is behind a paywall and this article has no details The abstract says > Conditioned responses in this new magnetic map assay were unaffected by radiofrequency oscillating magnetic fields, a treatment expected to disrupt radical-pair-based chemical magnetoreception4,5,6, suggesting that the magnetic map sense of the turtle does not rely on this mechanism. By contrast, orientation behaviour that required use of the magnetic compass was disrupted by radiofrequency oscillating magnetic fields. The findings provide evidence that two different mechanisms of magnetoreception underlie the magnetic map and magnetic compass in sea turtles.
FridayoLeary 11mo ago
I'm wondering what happens when the earths magnetic field flips. A mass die off? >“It is amazing that sea turtles have access to a wealth of invisible information that they use to navigate in ways that are hard for us to even imagine.” we can never hope to compete with nature, but i do find that statement funny. They literally built a device to help emulate turtle navigation. GPS is a part of life. Humans can detect and have found uses for almost every part of the spectrum. Compasses have existed for centuries. I'm not being dismissive of this discovery at all. I just find it remarkable how much we have managed to achieve.
- ranie93 11mo ago
  According to wikipedia the reversals can take a while >Some sources estimate the most recent four reversals took on average 7,000 years to occur. Clement (2004) suggests that this duration is dependent on latitude, with shorter durations at low latitudes and longer durations at mid and high latitudes. Others estimate the duration of full reversals to vary from between 2,000 to 12,000 years. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal So maybe that's enough time for the biomass to adapt?
- vasco 11mo ago
  > I'm wondering what happens when the earths magnetic field flips That's how they end up upside down in Australia.
NedF 11mo ago
[dead]
nickdothutton 11mo ago
I have a picture in my mind of a large gyroscope with a sea turtle mounted on a gimbal, sloshing about a hemispherical water tank.

35 points by hhs 11mo ago

cellular 11mo ago

If a magnet were attached to the turtle, would it lose its sense of direction?

dilawar 11mo ago
It should. Original paper is behind a paywall and this article has no details The abstract says > Conditioned responses in this new magnetic map assay were unaffected by radiofrequency oscillating magnetic fields, a treatment expected to disrupt radical-pair-based chemical magnetoreception4,5,6, suggesting that the magnetic map sense of the turtle does not rely on this mechanism. By contrast, orientation behaviour that required use of the magnetic compass was disrupted by radiofrequency oscillating magnetic fields. The findings provide evidence that two different mechanisms of magnetoreception underlie the magnetic map and magnetic compass in sea turtles.

FridayoLeary 11mo ago

I'm wondering what happens when the earths magnetic field flips. A mass die off? >“It is amazing that sea turtles have access to a wealth of invisible information that they use to navigate in ways that are hard for us to even imagine.” we can never hope to compete with nature, but i do find that statement funny. They literally built a device to help emulate turtle navigation. GPS is a part of life. Humans can detect and have found uses for almost every part of the spectrum. Compasses have existed for centuries. I'm not being dismissive of this discovery at all. I just find it remarkable how much we have managed to achieve.

ranie93 11mo ago
According to wikipedia the reversals can take a while >Some sources estimate the most recent four reversals took on average 7,000 years to occur. Clement (2004) suggests that this duration is dependent on latitude, with shorter durations at low latitudes and longer durations at mid and high latitudes. Others estimate the duration of full reversals to vary from between 2,000 to 12,000 years. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal So maybe that's enough time for the biomass to adapt?
vasco 11mo ago
> I'm wondering what happens when the earths magnetic field flips That's how they end up upside down in Australia.

NedF 11mo ago

[dead]

nickdothutton 11mo ago

I have a picture in my mind of a large gyroscope with a sea turtle mounted on a gimbal, sloshing about a hemispherical water tank.