Paturle, Anais (2023) This is the way – The mystery of magnetoreception and its use in long-distance migration in sea turtles. Master's Thesis / Essay, Ecology and Evolution.
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Abstract
Magnetoreception is now known to be used as a guidance system among a wide array of animals. It relies on the geomagnetic field that englobes planet earth and provides a globe-wide compass for migrating animals. Among them, sea turtles are the most studied, and yet little is known about the internal mechanisms allowing them to exploit such magnetic information and use it for navigation. How do animals find their way when they rely on magnetoreception? In this essay, I first discuss the three main current hypotheses regarding the way animals may detect magnetic field parameters. I then relate this to the puzzling case of sea turtles and the novel symbiotic magnetoactic hypothesis. Finally, I discuss the difficulties in studying magnetoreception. I find that although each of the three main theories offer convincing arguments when it comes to specific individual species, none currently explain the mechanics of magnetoreception in all animals. I discuss that it is likely that these mechanics are not exclusive but instead occur simultaneously in individuals, and I show through the example of sea turtles and magnetitic bacteria, that there may even be entirely new mechanism we are yet to unravel. I finally describe how our biases based on our human senses as well as the difficulties we encounter when measuring magnetic activity may lead to errors, and how research needs to take this into account in order to yield convincing results that will shed light on what is still unknown.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master's Thesis / Essay) |
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| Supervisor name: | Egas, M. |
| Degree programme: | Ecology and Evolution |
| Thesis type: | Master's Thesis / Essay |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2023 14:34 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jul 2023 14:34 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/30379 |
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