Bat orientation using Earth's magnetic field: Navigation

Bat pages The remarkable echolocation system used by bats is effective only over short distances. How bats navigate over longer distances has long been a mystery. An experiment on Eptesicus fuscus , also known as the 'big brown' bat, suggests that their homing behaviour is controlled by an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2006-12, Vol.444 (7120), p.702-702
Main Authors: Holland, Richard A., Thorup, Kasper, Vonhof, Maarten J., Cochran, William W., Wikelski, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
brief-communication
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Bat pages The remarkable echolocation system used by bats is effective only over short distances. How bats navigate over longer distances has long been a mystery. An experiment on Eptesicus fuscus , also known as the 'big brown' bat, suggests that their homing behaviour is controlled by an inbuilt magnetic compass that tracks the Earth's magnetic field. Bats famously orientate at night by echolocation 1 , but this works over only a short range, and little is known about how they navigate over longer distances 2 . Here we show that the homing behaviour of Eptesicus fuscus , known as the big brown bat, can be altered by artificially shifting the Earth's magnetic field, indicating that these bats rely on a magnetic compass to return to their home roost. This finding adds to the impressive array of sensory abilities possessed by this animal for navigation in the dark.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/444702a