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. 2014 Aug 6;11(97):20140451.
doi: 10.1098/rsif.2014.0451.

Magnetic orientation of garden warblers (Sylvia borin) under 1.4 MHz radiofrequency magnetic field

Kirill Kavokin  1 , Nikita Chernetsov  2 , Alexander Pakhomov  3 , Julia Bojarinova  4 , Dmitry Kobylkov  2 , Barot Namozov  5
Affiliations

Magnetic orientation of garden warblers (Sylvia borin) under 1.4 MHz radiofrequency magnetic field

Kirill Kavokin et al. J R Soc Interface. .

Abstract

We report on the experiments on orientation of a migratory songbird, the garden warbler (Sylvia borin), during the autumn migration period on the Courish Spit, Eastern Baltics. Birds in experimental cages, deprived of visual information, showed the seasonally appropriate direction of intended flight with respect to the magnetic meridian. Weak radiofrequency (RF) magnetic field (190 nT at 1.4 MHz) disrupted this orientation ability. These results may be considered as an independent replication of earlier experiments, performed by the group of R. and W. Wiltschko with European robins (Erithacus rubecula). Confirmed outstanding sensitivity of the birds' magnetic compass to RF fields in the lower megahertz range demands for a revision of one of the mainstream theories of magnetoreception, the radical-pair model of birds' magnetic compass.

Keywords: magnetoreception; orientation; radical-pair model; radiofrequency fields.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Orientation of garden warblers on the Courish Spit during autumn migration without access to celestial cues that showed directed results under all three testing conditions (n = 8). (a) Results in the natural magnetic field; (b) results in oscillating magnetic field; (c) results in the magnetic field rotated 120° anticlockwise, shown in respect to the geographical north. Each triangle at the circular diagram periphery indicates the mean orientation of one individual bird. The triangle and letters mN show the position of the magnetic north in each testing condition. Arrowheads show group mean directions and vector lengths.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Orientation of all garden warblers that showed directed results (a) in the natural magnetic field (n = 19) and (b) in oscillating magnetic field (n = 18).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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