Avian Navigation: Pigeon Homing as a Paradigm (eBook)

Hans G. Wallraff (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2005
XII, 229 Seiten
Springer Berlin (Verlag)
9783540264323 (ISBN)

Infos

How migratory birds can navigate home from their wintering grounds to their breeding sites over hundreds and thousands of kilometres has been an admired mystery over more than a century. Profound advances towards a solution of this problem have been achieved with a model bird, the homing pigeon. This monograph summarizes our current knowledge about pigeon homing, about the birds' application of a sun compass and a magnetic compass, of a visual topographical map within a familiar area and -- most surprisingly -- of an olfactory map using atmospheric chemosignals as indicators of position in distant unfamiliar areas.

Dr. Hans G. Wallraff was scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology who investigated navigation and orientation of birds over almost 50 years.

Inhalt

Preface 5
Contents 8
Introduction 12
1.1 Avian Migration and Navigation 12
1.2 Why Investigate Domestic Homing Pigeons? 13
1.3 On Terms and Definitions 15
Observation Data Used to Investigate Pigeon Homing 18
2.1 Initial Orientation 18
2.2 Homing Performance 22
2.3 Homing Routes 23
2.4 Recoveries 25
2.5 Cage Experiments 27
Basic Features of Pigeon Homing 28
3.1 Homing of Inexperienced Pigeons 29
3.2 Experience Gained by Homing Flights 40
3.3 Temporal Variability 49
3.4 Accuracy of Homeward Orientation 53
3.5 Spatial Range of Pigeon Homing 57
3.6 Multiple and Mobile Home Sites 58
3.7 Conclusions and Perspectives 59
Potential Input Signals Exploitable for Home- Finding 64
4.1 Directional References 64
4.2 Indicators of Position 65
The Role of the Sun 70
5.1 Effects of Shifting the Birds’Circadian Clock 70
5.2 Linkage Between Sun Compass and Map 75
5.3 Orientation Under Overcast Skies 77
5.4 Conclusions and Perspectives 79
The Role of the Geomagnetic Field 80
6.1 Effects of Artificial Magnetic Fields 80
6.2 Geomagnetic Irregularities 88
6.3 Conclusions and Perspectives 89
The Role of the Chemical Atmosphere 98
7.1 Effects of Olfactory Deprivation 98
7.2 Dependence on the Air the Pigeons Breathe 107
7.3 Olfactory Misguidance 112
7.4 Spatial Range and Variability of Olfaction-Based Homing 118
7.5 Varying Home Site Conditions in Aviary Experiments 122
7.6 Spatial Structures in the Chemical Atmosphere 131
7.7 Avian Olfactory Perception: A Suitable Tool for Navigation? 147
7.8 Arguments Against Olfactory Navigation – and Replies 149
7.9 Conclusions and Perspectives 154
The Role of the Visual Landscape 160
8.1 The Landscape as a Home-Guiding Factor 160
8.2 The Landscape as a Disturbing Factor 168
8.3 Conclusions and Perspectives 170
The Neural Bases of Pigeon Homing 172
9.1 The Hippocampus and the Familiar-Landscape Map 172
9.2 The Hippocampus and the Olfactory Map 176
9.3 The Piriform Cortex and the Olfactory Map 177
9.4 Roles of Other Brain Regions and Hemispheric Lateralization 178
9.5 Conclusions and Perspectives 178
Homing in Other Birds 180
10.1 Experimental Approaches 180
10.2 Homing in Natural Life 187
10.3 Conclusions and Perspectives 192
Research History: Blind Alleys and an Unexpected Passage 194
Overall Synthesis and Perspective 198
12.1 Environmental Cues Involved in Home-Finding Processes 198
12.2 Two Homing Mechanisms 199
12.3 Challenges for Future Research 200
12.4 Outlook 203
Appendix: Notes on Selected Particulars 206
References 216
Subject Index 236

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.11.2005
• Zusatzinfo: XII, 229 p.
• Verlagsort: Berlin
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Studium
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: Atmosphere • bird • bird navigation • Breeding • Heimkehrvermögen, Vögel • homing • Magnetic field • orientation, birds • Orientierung, Vögel • pigeons • Sun • synthesis • Tauben • Vogelnavigation
• ISBN-13: 9783540264323 / 9783540264323