Navigation: Bat orientation using Earth's magnetic field

Richard A. Holland; Kasper Thorup; Maarten J. Vonhof; William W. Cochran; Martin Wikelski

doi:10.1038/444702a

Navigation: Bat orientation using Earth's magnetic field

Richard A. Holland, Kasper Thorup, Maarten J. Vonhof, William W. Cochran, Martin Wikelski

91 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Bats famously orientate at night by echolocation¹, but this works over only a short range, and little is known about how they navigate over longer distances². 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.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature
Volume	444
Issue number	707
Pages (from-to)	702-702
ISSN	0028-0836
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/444702a
Publication status	Published - 2006

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title = "Navigation: Bat orientation using Earth's magnetic field",

abstract = "Bats famously orientate at night by echolocation1, but this works over only a short range, and little is known about how they navigate over longer distances2. 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.",

author = "Holland, {Richard A.} and Kasper Thorup and Vonhof, {Maarten J.} and Cochran, {William W.} and Martin Wikelski",

year = "2006",

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AU - Thorup, Kasper

AU - Vonhof, Maarten J.

AU - Cochran, William W.

AU - Wikelski, Martin

PY - 2006

Y1 - 2006

N2 - Bats famously orientate at night by echolocation1, but this works over only a short range, and little is known about how they navigate over longer distances2. 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.

AB - Bats famously orientate at night by echolocation1, but this works over only a short range, and little is known about how they navigate over longer distances2. 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.

U2 - 10.1038/444702a

DO - 10.1038/444702a

M3 - Journal article

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VL - 444

SP - 702

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JO - Nature

JF - Nature

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ER -

Navigation: Bat orientation using Earth's magnetic field

Abstract

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