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Biomedical subjects

W Wiltschko

Publications and source records attributed to W Wiltschko.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Orientation in birds. Magnetic orientation and celestial cues in migratory orientation.

Young birds on their first migration possess innate information on the direction of their migration route. It is represented twice, using both celestial rotation and the geomagnetic field as references. These two systems, together with information provided by factors associated with sunset, interact in a complex way to establish the migratory direction. During ontogeny, celestial rotation appears to be dominant; during migration, however, celestial cues appear to be controlled by the magnetic field.--The factors associated with sunset--the view of the setting sun and the characteristic pattern of polarized light--are important secondary cues which seem to derive their directional significance from the magnetic field. Their role appears to be more variable, with possible species-specific differences. During spring migration and later autumn migrations, flying in the migratory direction is complemented by navigational processes which enable the birds to return to a specific home site known from previous stays.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Magnetic compass orientation in the subterranean rodent Cryptomys hottentotus (Bathyergidae).

To test whether mole-rats Cryptomys hottentotus were able to use the magnetic field for orientation, laboratory experiments were conducted which were based on the animals' spontaneous tendency to build their nests at the same position in a circular arena. In the local geomagnetic field, the animals preferred the SE-sector. When magnetic north was turned by 120 degrees or by 180 degrees, the mole-rats changed their nest position accordingly. This clearly shows that they can use the magnetic field for direction finding.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Pigeon homing: does initial orientation include a 'preferred compass direction'?

To find out whether the initial orientation of pigeons is affected by a spontaneous directional tendency, as postulated by Wallraff's (1974, 1978, 1982) hypothesis, experienced birds were released at test sites distributed symmetrically around their loft. The length of the mean vectors of the single releases, the deviations from the home direction, the homeward components as well as the homing speed did not show a correlation with the geographic position of the home direction. Summarizing four sites each on 21 experimental circles, we frequently obtained significant compass vectors, but they varied in direction between 115 degrees ESE and 351 degrees N, depending on what sites had been used, and did not indicate a uniform trend. A 'preferred compass direction' as an integrated part of pigeon navigation, being the reason for the frequently observed deviations from the home direction, could not be confirmed. The problematic nature of simply pooling the data of several symmetrically distributed test sites and calling any resulting significant vector a 'preferred compass direction' is discussed, together with other possible reasons for asymmetrical distributions of release site biases.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1983

Effects of an artificial magnetic field on serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity and melatonin content of the rat pineal gland.

In the present study the effects of artificial magnetic fields on pineal serotonin-N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity and melatonin content in male Sprague-Dawley rats were investigated to study the secretory activity of the pineal gland. Experimental inversion of the horizontal component of the natural magnetic field, performed at night-time, led to a significant decrease of both parameters investigated. During day-time, this effect was less conspicuous. During night-time, inversion of the horizontal component is followed by a reduced pineal secretory activity for about 2 h. After 24 h exposure to the inverted horizontal component, return to the natural condition was followed by a renewed clear depression of pineal NAT activity and melatonin content, indicating that the main stimulus is not the inverted magnetic field itself but rather its change. Changing the inclination of the local magnetic field from 63 degrees to 58 degrees, 68 degrees or 78 degrees, respectively also decreased the secretory activity of the rat pineal gland.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1981

Pigeons with a deficient sun compass use the magnetic compass.

Homing pigeons that had never seen the sun before noon could not use the sun compass in the morning; nevertheless they were homeward oriented. When such birds carried magnets, however, they were disoriented, suggesting they were using a magnetic compass. These findings indicate that the magnetic compass is available to pigeons whether or not the sun compass has been established and that the magnetic compass is apparently the first source of compass information.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

The effect of celestial cues on the ontogeny of non-visual orientation in the garden warbler (Sylvia borin).

It was the aim of this study to find out whether additional information from the sun and the stars during early development leads to an improvement in the young birds' non-visual orientation performance during their first autumn migration period. The results indicate that the birds' ability to determine their migratory direction can mature independently of celestial information. Celestial cues, however, appear to be involved in the normal maturation process of migratory orientation, since the availability of celestial information during ontogeny tends to impair the birds' non-visual orientation.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

The interaction of stars and magnetic field in the orientation system of night migrating birds. I. Autumn experiments with European Warblers (gen. Sylvia).

In the autumn migration periods of 1971, 1972, and 1973 the orientation behavior in registration cages of Sylvia communis, S. borin and S. cantillans was analyzed to find out what relative importance the birds assign to information from the stars and from the magnetic field for direction finding. We obtained the following results: 1. Under clear sky in the local earth's magnetic field (Control) the warblers showed directional preferences that corresponded to their expected migratory direction based on ringing recoveries. 2. When magnetic north was turned by 120 degrees to ESE (Test), all three species preferred on clear nights their migratory direction according to the magnetic field, in spite of contradicting information from the stars. 3. In a partly compensated magnetic field, which could not be used for orientation any more, no significant directional preference could be observed, although the stars were visible. Dividing these data into two groups according to whether the birds had been tested in Control or Test previously, we found a tendency for the directions selected here to depend upon the north direction of the magnetic field during the bird's previous tests. From this and from the observation that the concentration of orientation behavior decreases in the absence of stars, we derive the following orientational model: The magnetic field provides the primary directional information for migrating birds. The stars do not contain directional information in themselves, but they can become secondary sources of orientation when information from the magnetic field has been transferred to them previously. The importance of this mechanism lies in making it easier for the birds to maintain their migratory direction. The ecological advantages of such a system are discussed and critically compared to the other models of star orientation.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

The interaction of stars and magnetic field in the orientation system of night migrating birds. II. Spring experiments with european robins (Erithacus rubecula).

To investigate the relative importance of stellar and magnetic cues for the compass orientation of night migrating birds, 45 European robins (Erithacus rubecula) were tested in automatically registering cages with view of the clear natural night sky. One group was tested in the natural local geomagnetic field, the other group in a field pointing to 120 degrees ESE; birds from both groups were additionally tested in a magnetic field the horizontal component of which was compensated. The observed orientation behavior leads to the conclusion that star compass and magnetic compass are not independent, but that they are interlinked in the way that the star compass is established by information from the magnetic compass.

Animals↗