Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The use of “map-like” information from Earth's magnetic field for orientation has been shown in diverse taxa, but questions remain regarding the function of such maps. We used a “magnetic displacement” experiment to demonstrate that juvenile pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) use magnetic cues to orient. The experiment was designed to simultaneously explore whether their magnetic map is used to direct fish (i) homeward, (ii) toward the center of their broad oceanic range, or (iii) along their oceanic migratory route. The headings adopted by these navigationally naïve fish coincided remarkably well with the direction of the juveniles’ migration inferred from historical tagging and catch data. This suggests that the large-scale movements of pink salmon across the North Pacific may be driven largely by their innate use of geomagnetic map cues. Key aspects of the oceanic ecology of pink salmon and other marine migrants might therefore be predicted from magnetic displacement experiments.
Source: Journal of Experimental Biology
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.218735
Language: English
Subfield: Biophysics
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: University of Washington, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington Sea Grant, University of Washington, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries Service, Ocean Acidification Program, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
OpenAlex ID: W3005073847