How magnetism affects animal behaviour?

February 24, 2023February 24, 2023 Guest Article 0 Comments Biology, Magnetism, Quantum Biology

3 minutes read

For more than 50 years, researchers have noted that the Earth’s magnetic field can affect the behaviour of a wide range of species. But, despite decades of study, the precise makeup of this “magnetic sense” is still unknown.
A thorough overview of this interdisciplinary topic has now been produced by Will Schneider, Richard Holland, Oliver Lindecke, and others from Bangor University in Wales, Institute for Biology in Oldenburg, Germany, with an emphasis on the methodology used. Now available in The European Physical Journal Special Topics is this study.

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The first animals to exhibit this magnetic sense, or “magnetoreception,” were birds, particularly migratory songbirds. Today, it has been seen in a wide variety of other species, including fish, insects, and mammals. Yet, because it might be obscured by other environmental influences, it is challenging to pinpoint the precise relationship between the magnetic field and the behaviour. If experiments are to produce statistically reliable results, they must be meticulously planned.
According to Schneider, “We hope to provide a balanced perspective for scholars who aspire to enter this fascinating field of sensory biology.” He and his co-authors described a variety of techniques for determining whether a magnetic field has an impact on an animal’s behaviour.

Behavioral testing of animal magnetic sensing in the laboratory and the wild. Typically, measures range from a observing body alignment in inactive or moving animals, e.g. in termites which occupy resting positions perpendicular to the magnetic field direction [6], to manipulations of the animal or its immediate surroundings. Numbing or removing the (nerve)tissues b or organs, or knocking out genes, thought to form the basis of a magnetic sensory system allows the localisation of body parts involved (e.g. [7] or [8]). Direct alteration of the perceivable magnetic field can be achieved by attaching magnets to the body (typically the head c, e.g. [9] or [10]) or placing magnets in the near environment (e.g. [11]). Magnets are thought to disrupt magnetoreception, leading to impaired orientation and navigation. In contrast, controlled manipulation of field cues (intensity, inclination and polarity angles) using magnetic coil systems d enables experimenters to predict directions of movement inside the altered magnetic field (e.g. [12] or [13]), or even outside of a coil system if the effect on the biomagnetic sensory system is longer lasting such as after a so-called magnetic pulse (e.g. [14]), or in the case of a compass system which is calibrated for later use (e.g. [14]). Credit: *The European Physical Journal Special Topics* (2023). DOI: 10.1140/epjs/s11734-022-00755-8

These include observing behaviour after tissues thought to be responsible for magnetoreception have been removed or genes knocked out, and attaching small magnets on or near the animals’ bodies to disrupt the mechanism. GPS can also be used to mark animals’ alignment with the Earth’s field during routine activities, such as cows grazing. To fully comprehend this phenomenon, additional research by animal physiologists, neuroscientists, geneticists, and others will also be required.
The research is also not just for academic purposes. According to Lindecke, “understanding animal magnetoreception will assist us to protect creatures released into uncharted areas in the wild.”

To know more read : Will T. Schneider et al, Over 50 years of behavioural evidence on the magnetic sense in animals: what has been learnt and how?, The European Physical Journal Special Topics (2023). DOI: 10.1140/epjs/s11734-022-00755-8

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