The role of the sun in the celestial compass of dung beetles

Recent research has focused on the different types of compass cues available to ball-rolling beetles for orientation, but little is known about the relative precision of each of these cues and how they interact. In this study, we find that the absolute orientation error of the celestial compass of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 2014-02, Vol.369 (1636), p.20130036-20130036
Main Authors: Dacke, M., el Jundi, Basil, Smolka, Jochen, Byrne, Marcus, Baird, Emily
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Biologi
Biological Sciences
Coleoptera - physiology
Cues
Dung Beetle
Motor Activity - physiology
Natural Sciences
Naturvetenskap
Navigation
Orientation
Polarized Light
Solar Compass
Sunlight
Vision
Vision, Ocular - physiology
Zoologi
Zoology
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Summary:Recent research has focused on the different types of compass cues available to ball-rolling beetles for orientation, but little is known about the relative precision of each of these cues and how they interact. In this study, we find that the absolute orientation error of the celestial compass of the day-active dung beetle Scarabaeus lamarcki doubles from 16° at solar elevations below 60° to an error of 29° at solar elevations above 75°. As ball-rolling dung beetles rely solely on celestial compass cues for their orientation, these insects experience a large decrease in orientation precision towards the middle of the day. We also find that in the compass system of dung beetles, the solar cues and the skylight cues are used together and share the control of orientation behaviour. Finally, we demonstrate that the relative influence of the azimuthal position of the sun for straight-line orientation decreases as the sun draws closer to the horizon. In conclusion, ball-rolling dung beetles possess a dynamic celestial compass system in which the orientation precision and the relative influence of the solar compass cues change over the course of the day.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.2013.0036