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Free keywords:
animals; long‐distance navigation; magnetosensor; navigational strategies; orientation behavior; radical‐pair compass; star compass
Abstract:
Orientation behavior with the combined use of a clock and a biological compass is widely practiced in a huge array of animals, both by naïve juveniles and experienced adults. For animals, both orientation and navigation require dependence on multiple sensory systems to detect sources of directional information to use as a reference in their environments. In general, star compass use in animals has not received a considerable amount of attention compared to other compass systems, maybe due to experimental and logistical constraints. Based on birds, two potential mechanisms have been put forward: a chemical reaction in the bird's eyes known as the radical‐pair compass, and a mechanical receptor based on magnetic particles. The radical‐pair mechanism has been suggested to possess the chemical properties needed to function as a magnetosensor.
