Astronomical Orientation of the Southern Cricket Frog, Acris gryllus

The orientation of southern cricket frogs was tested in a circular pen 60 ft in diameter located in water. With only the sun and sky visible, frogs moved in a direction corresponding to a line drawn perpendicularly toward the home shoreline. Accuracy of daytime orientation was not diminished after f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Copeia 1965-03, Vol.1965 (1), p.58-66
Main Authors: Ferguson, Denzel E., Landreth, Hobart F., Turnipseed, Marvin R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air bags
Animals
Cricket
Frogs
Ice
Lakeshores
Natural satellites
Puddles
Shorelines
Stars
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Summary:The orientation of southern cricket frogs was tested in a circular pen 60 ft in diameter located in water. With only the sun and sky visible, frogs moved in a direction corresponding to a line drawn perpendicularly toward the home shoreline. Accuracy of daytime orientation was not diminished after frogs were held 43 hr in total darkness. Animals collected by day and kept in total darkness oriented correctly when tested at night in view of the moon. Cricket frogs tested with only stars visible show bipolar orientation along the proper axis. When the same frogs were tested twice, the results were nearly identical. Successful orientation to home shores was observed in frogs displaced 15.1 mi and in those from 2 different shores when tested simultaneously. Reorientation to a new shoreline was evident after 3 hr and was virtually complete after a week.
ISSN:0045-8511
1938-5110
DOI:10.2307/1441240