Magnetoreception Abilities in Juvenile Loggerhead Sea Turtles ...

• Main Author: Hanover, Joshua Frazier
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries 2017
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17615/dnk3-jy72; https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/honors_theses/t435gj15f

Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) complete extensive, open-ocean migrations around the North Atlantic subtropical gyre current system over the course of many years. Evidence suggests that magnetoreception, or the ability to detect the Earth’s magnetic field, plays a role in their ability to navigate large, open areas lacking obvious cues. One possibility is that sea turtles use geographically predictable differences in the Earth’s magnetic field in order to guide themselves. In order to exploit these geographical differences, turtles must be able to monitor changes in the ambient magnetic field. Two experimental methods were used to assess how juvenile sea turtles react to a changing magnetic field. The first, an orientation experiment, was designed to test whether juvenile loggerhead sea turtles can detect and respond to changes in the inclination (angle at which the field intersects the Earth’s surface) and intensity (strength of the field) in a simulated environment. The second, an activity ...