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The Earth's Magnetic Field and Visual Landmarks Steer Migratory Flight Behavior in the Nocturnal Australian Bogong Moth.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Dreyer, D; Frost, B; Mouritsen, H; Günther, A; Green, K; Whitehouse, M; Johnsen, S; Heinze, S; Warrant, E
Published in: Current biology : CB
July 2018

Like many birds [1], numerous species of nocturnal moths undertake spectacular long-distance migrations at night [2]. Each spring, billions of Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) escape hot conditions in different regions of southeast Australia by making a highly directed migration of over 1,000 km to a limited number of cool caves in the Australian Alps, historically used for aestivating over the summer [3, 4]. How moths determine the direction of inherited migratory trajectories at night and locate their destination (i.e., navigate) is currently unknown [5-7]. Here we show that Bogong moths can sense the Earth's magnetic field and use it in conjunction with visual landmarks to steer migratory flight behavior. By tethering migrating moths in an outdoor flight simulator [8], we found that their flight direction turned predictably when dominant visual landmarks and a natural Earth-strength magnetic field were turned together, but that the moths became disoriented within a few minutes when these cues were set in conflict. We thus conclude that Bogong moths, like nocturnally migrating birds [9], can use a magnetic sense. Our results represent the first reliable demonstration of the use of the Earth's magnetic field to steer flight behavior in a nocturnal migratory insect.

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Published In

Current biology : CB

DOI

EISSN

1879-0445

ISSN

0960-9822

Publication Date

July 2018

Volume

28

Issue

13

Start / End Page

2160 / 2166.e5

Related Subject Headings

  • Orientation, Spatial
  • Moths
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Flight, Animal
  • Earth, Planet
  • Developmental Biology
  • Australia
  • Animals
  • Animal Migration
  • 52 Psychology
 

Citation

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Dreyer, D., Frost, B., Mouritsen, H., Günther, A., Green, K., Whitehouse, M., … Warrant, E. (2018). The Earth's Magnetic Field and Visual Landmarks Steer Migratory Flight Behavior in the Nocturnal Australian Bogong Moth. Current Biology : CB, 28(13), 2160-2166.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.030
Dreyer, David, Barrie Frost, Henrik Mouritsen, Anja Günther, Ken Green, Mary Whitehouse, Sönke Johnsen, Stanley Heinze, and Eric Warrant. “The Earth's Magnetic Field and Visual Landmarks Steer Migratory Flight Behavior in the Nocturnal Australian Bogong Moth.Current Biology : CB 28, no. 13 (July 2018): 2160-2166.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.030.
Dreyer D, Frost B, Mouritsen H, Günther A, Green K, Whitehouse M, et al. The Earth's Magnetic Field and Visual Landmarks Steer Migratory Flight Behavior in the Nocturnal Australian Bogong Moth. Current biology : CB. 2018 Jul;28(13):2160-2166.e5.
Dreyer, David, et al. “The Earth's Magnetic Field and Visual Landmarks Steer Migratory Flight Behavior in the Nocturnal Australian Bogong Moth.Current Biology : CB, vol. 28, no. 13, July 2018, pp. 2160-2166.e5. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.030.
Dreyer D, Frost B, Mouritsen H, Günther A, Green K, Whitehouse M, Johnsen S, Heinze S, Warrant E. The Earth's Magnetic Field and Visual Landmarks Steer Migratory Flight Behavior in the Nocturnal Australian Bogong Moth. Current biology : CB. 2018 Jul;28(13):2160-2166.e5.
Journal cover image

Published In

Current biology : CB

DOI

EISSN

1879-0445

ISSN

0960-9822

Publication Date

July 2018

Volume

28

Issue

13

Start / End Page

2160 / 2166.e5

Related Subject Headings

  • Orientation, Spatial
  • Moths
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Flight, Animal
  • Earth, Planet
  • Developmental Biology
  • Australia
  • Animals
  • Animal Migration
  • 52 Psychology