Do bees use magnetoreception?
1506351#13
Magnetoreception is well documented in honey bees, ants and termites. In ants and bees, this is used to orient and navigate in areas around their nests and within their migratory paths. For example, through the use of magnetoreception, the Brazilian stingless bee "Schwarziana quadripunctata" is able to distinguish differences in altitude, location, and directionality using the thousands of hair-like particles on its antennae.
Magnetoreception
147685#44
Scientists are still studying whether or not animals are affected by this, some suggesting this is why whales beach themselves. Some have stated the possibility that other migrating animals including birds and honey bees, might be affected since they also use magnetoreception to navigate, and geomagnetic storms alter the Earth's magnetic fields temporarily.Links related to power grids:
Geomagnetic storm
23416874#44
Magnetoception (or magnetoreception) is the ability to detect the direction one is facing based on the Earth's magnetic field. Directional awareness is most commonly observed in birds, which rely on their magnetic sense to navigate during migration. It has also been observed in insects such as bees. Cattle make use of magnetoception to align themselves in a north-south direction. Magnetotactic bacteria build miniature magnets inside themselves and use them to determine their orientation relative to the Earth's magnetic field.
Sense
11596736#20
Along with, and often closely related to, communication, effective navigation within an environment is vital to the successful reproduction of eusocial insects. Although some organisms’ methods of navigation seem quite apparent (i.e. through modes of sight and scent) the navigational system of "Schwarziana quadripunctata" had remained elusive until quite recently. It has been determined that "S. quadripunctata" navigates, like many other bees, through the use of magnetoreception – utilizing magnetic fields in the atmosphere to recognize differences in location, altitude and directionality.
Schwarziana quadripunctata
11596736#21
This notion of magnetic navigational skills was first observed in a 2005 study conducted by Esquivel et al. on a "S. quadripunctata" nest near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The study applied various levels of applied magnetic fields across the entrance of the nest. The exiting angles (both vertical and horizontal) of the individual bees were then measured as they emerged from the nest. The primary control experiment confirmed that the majority of the nest had a preferential exiting angle in accordance with the local geomagnetic field. Over the course of four months, the study group measured the two angles in comparison to various magnitudes of applied magnetic fields and compared them to observed angles in natural geomagnetic fields. A significant correlation was found between the two, definitively showing that the stingless bee relies on magnetoreception for navigational purposes.
Schwarziana quadripunctata
23538713#35
Microbats make use of magnetoreception, in that they have a high sensitivity to the Earth's magnetic field, as birds do. Microbats use a polarity-based compass, meaning that they differentiate north from south, unlike birds, which use the strength of the magnetic field to differentiate latitudes, which may be used in long-distance travel. The mechanism is unknown but may involve magnetite particles.
Bat
1506351#26
Work with mice, mole-rats and bats has shown that some mammals are capable of magnetoreception. When woodmice are removed from their home area and deprived of visual and olfactory cues, they orient themselves towards their homes until an inverted magnetic field is applied to their cage. However, when the same mice are allowed access to visual cues, they are able to orient themselves towards home despite the presence of inverted magnetic fields. This indicates that when woodmice are displaced, they use magnetic fields to orient themselves if there are no other cues available. However, early studies of these subjects were criticized because of the difficulty of completely removing sensory cues, and in some because the tests were performed out of the natural environment. In others, the results of these experiments do not conclusively show a response to magnetic fields when deprived of other cues, because the magnetic field was artificially changed before the test rather than during it.
Magnetoreception
1506351#28
Bats may also use magnetic fields to orient themselves. While it is known that bats use echolocation to navigate over short distances, it is unclear how they navigate over longer distances. When "Eptesicus fuscus" are taken from their home roosts and exposed to magnetic fields 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise of magnetic north, they are disoriented and set off for their homes in the wrong direction. Therefore, it seems that "Eptesicus fuscus" is capable of magnetoreception. However, the exact use of magnetic fields by "Eptesicus fuscus" is unclear as the magnetic field could be used either as a map, a compass, or a compass calibrator. Recent research with another bat species, "Myotis myotis", supports the hypothesis that bats use magnetic fields as a compass calibrator and their primary compass is the sun.
Magnetoreception
13537626#15
Magnetoreception refers to the ability of animals to navigate using the inclination of the magnetic field of the earth. A possible explanation for magnetoreception is the entangled radical pair mechanism. The radical-pair mechanism is well-established in spin chemistry, and was speculated to apply to magnetoreception in 1978 by Schulten et al.. The ratio between singlet and triplet pairs is changed by the interaction of entangled electron pairs with the magnetic field of the earth. In 2000, cryptochrome was proposed as the "magnetic molecule" that could harbor magnetically sensitive radical-pairs. Cryptochrome, a flavoprotein found in the eyes of European robins and other animal species, is the only protein known to form photoinduced radical-pairs in animals. When it interacts with light particles, cryptochrome goes through a redox reaction, which yields radical pairs both during the photo-reduction and the oxidation. The function of cryptochrome is diverse across species, however, the photoinduction of radical-pairs occurs by exposure to blue light, which excites an electron in a chromophore. Magnetoreception is also possible in the dark, so the mechanism must rely more on the radical pairs generated during light-independent oxidation.
Quantum biology
1506351#0
Magnetoreception (also magnetoception) is a sense which allows an organism to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude or location. This sensory modality is used by a range of animals for orientation and navigation, and as a method for animals to develop regional maps. For the purpose of navigation, magnetoreception deals with the detection of the Earth's magnetic field.
Magnetoreception