At a fairly young age we are taught that birds in Canada migrate South to warmer climates during the winter. Due to Canada’s harsh winters, the survival of many birds depends on their ability to correctly interpret the Earth’s magnetic field as they make their journey to more southern areas (Gould, 2010). While most of this research is still being explored, it is hypothesized that this ability comes from the bird’s sense of “magnetoreception” (Matsos, 2020). As defined by the Oxford English dictionary, “magnetoreception” refers to an organism’s ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic fields, which is believed to provide an explanation for bird navigation (Oxford English and Spanish Dictionary, 2000).
In 2000, researchers suggested that a birds’ eyes help them to convert light into a travel course, which acts as an inner magnetic compass (University of Southern Denmark, 2018). A more recent study was conducted by multiple scientists from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Oxford, and Temple University exploring a biophysical process known as the “radical pair mechanism” (Matsos, 2020). This study concluded that there are promising results of a protein-based premise of “magnetoreception” (Matsos, 2020). Therefore, it was hypothesized that this protein can be found in a bird’s eye, as well as other animals capable of navigation (Wiltschko and Wiltschko, 2019).
The race was on to figure out where in the eye this protein is located and how it functions. This protein is theorized to be a receptor molecule called “cryptochrome”. “Cryptochrome” is a flavoprotein that can absorb photons of light (Wiltschko and Wiltschko, 2019). It is also theorized that this protein receptor molecule lies within the retina of a bird’s eye, because here photons of light can be absorbed (Wiltschko and Wilschko, 2019). “The radical pair mechanism” refers to the process of a photochemical reaction in the retina, which is influenced by the orientation of the bird with respect to the geomagnetic field (Solov’yov, et al., 2010). As birds change the angle between their head and the Earth’s magnetic field, a visual impression showing the external magnetic field is generated (Solov’yov, et al., 2010). This visual impression can be seen in figure 1. To further this research, tests under near-monochromatic lights were conducted and revealed that orientation is possible under light from ultraviolet to a wavelength of about 565 nm, which corresponds to green light (Wiltschko and Wiltschko 2019).
There are several theories speculating as to the physiological characteristics responsible for “avian magnetoreception”. The conclusions drawn on how birds and other animals are capable of self-navigation will pose several other coinciding research questions. Some researchers suggest that understanding how the inner compass within a bird functions, will help us better protect wildlife (University of Southern Denmark, 2018). Other researchers believe that this understanding of how animals perceive magnetic fields, might lead to the discovery of a sixth sense within humans (Ritz, 2008). All things considered, a bird’s ability to self-navigate is a highly researched question, the answer to which still remains uncertain but is of great significance to the scientific community.
References:
Gould, J.L., 2010. Magnetoreception. ScienceDirect, [online] Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982210003714> [Accessed 27 September 2020].
Oxford English and Spanish Dictionary., 2000 Magnetoreception. [online] Available at: <https://www.lexico.com/definition/magnetoreception> [Accessed 27 September 2020].
Matsos, H., 2020. How animals sense earths magnetic field. [online] Phys.org. Available at: <https://phys.org/news/2020-05-animals-earth-magnetic-field.html>[Accessed 25 September 2020].
Wiltschko, R., & Wiltschko, W., 2019. Magnetoreception in birds. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, [online] Available at: <https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2019.0295> [Accessed 27 September 2020].
Solov’yov, I.A., Mouritsen, H., & Schulten, K., 2010. Acuity of a Cryptochrome and Vision-Based Magnetoreception System in Birds. Biophysical Journal, [online] Available at: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2895366/#bib33> [Accessed 28 September 2020].
St. Petersburg State University., 2020. Studying the mechanism for avian magnetic orientation. Phys.org. Available at <https://phys.org/news/2020-03-mechanism-avian-magnetic.html> [Accessed 28 September 2020]
Ritz, 2008. Replicating Birds’ Magnetic Vision. Interviewed by… Cohen, A. [radio] National Public Radio, 5 May 2008, 01:00.
Comments
9 Responses to “A Bird’s Eye View”
I chose this topic because I have always been very curious and fascinated on the science behind a bird’s ability to migrate and self-navigate. This research area has many connections to iSci and fits in nicely with concepts we have learned in Earth Sciences and Chemistry. In the past few weeks we have learned about the Earths magnetic field, and this blog demonstrates one of the many applications of this magnetic field. In the third unit of chemistry we learned about different wavelengths of light and how photos can be absorbed in the form of energy which directly relates to the functions of a bird’s eye. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post!
Hey Emma!
Really great blog post, I’ve always found the topic interesting as well. I’ve definitely learned something from reading it. I have some suggestions that will hopefully help your editing process;
– I love the title! Creative yet relevant to the piece.
– In paragraph 1, I think you’re missing some in text citations in sentences 3 and 4. And perhaps an in text citation is needed in paragraph 2, sentences 2 and 4. It’s safer to over-cite than under-cite.
– In paragraph three, there’s some repetition with the word “suggested”, perhaps you could use another word instead, like “hypothesized”, “theorized”, or even “thought”.
– In the last sentence of paragraph three you are missing a comma after your transition.
– I word reword the first sentence of the last paragraph to “There are several theories as to the physiological characteristics responsible for avian magnetoreception.”
– The second sentence of the conclusion is a little rocky, I’m not sure what you’re trying to articulate.
– In the last sentence of the conclusion I would use another transition instead of “all in all”. Perhaps “All things considered”?
– In the last sentence of the conclusion there’s a small typo – I think you meant to say “researched”, but perhaps you could rephrase part of the sentence to “(…) is a highly researched question, the answer to which still remains uncertain but is of great significance to the scientific community.”
Overall great job!!
Paige 🙂
Hi Paige,
Thank you for your feedback, it was vary helpful. I am really glad to hear that you enjoyed my topic! You made a great point to change up the word ‘suggested’ as it was used multiple times throughout my post and I have gone back through and revised this. In regards to the grammatic suggestions, I will definitely keep these in mind during my final editing process. I really liked your ideas for the wording of the first and last sentence in the last paragraph and have integrated this into my blog. Thank you again for your suggestions!
Emma
Hi Emma,
I loved your blog post and think you picked a great topic. I have often wondered about bird migration! I have a few suggestions for you to consider when you edit your blog:
1) I don’t think you referenced your figure anywhere in the text. I would add in a sentence or two in the text that connects to your image.
2) Speaking of your image, if possible, it might help increase the size of the image. It is a little small on the screen and hard to read and interpret.
3) Every time you refer to “Earth,” you have it capitalized but in the second sentence of the first paragraph. I would suggest capitalizing “Earth” in this case as well.
4) In the third sentence in the fourth paragraph, I would use the word function instead of functions.
5) I would also give the whole text a read over, looking for places to add in commas. I think that there a few places where commas would be appropriate.
Cheers,
Bronwyn
Hi Bronwyn,
Thank you for your feedback, it was very helpful! You made a great point to include a sentence in my text that connects to my image and I will look for ways in which I can add this component. I have also increased the size of the figure, so hopefully it will be easier to see. I will also take the grammatic suggestions into consideration when editing my post. I really appreciated your comment!
Thanks,
Emma
Hi Emma!
A couple minor things I noticed:
1) The opening sentence and a few other sentences scattered about in this post are run on sentences. I think you should look things over again and maybe do some punctuation editing. For example, in the first sentence, it sounds as if you are saying “the winter birds in Canada migrate south” when I can infer you mean that DURING the winter, comma, birds in Canada migrate south.
2) There are a few typos in the last paragraph. I would also consider rewording a couple sentences such as this one: “animals can self-navigate this will poses several other coinciding research questions” for clarity
Overall this was such a great post! It was a very interesting topic to read about 🙂
Hi Amanda,
Thank you for your suggestions, they were very helpful. I have fixed the typo in the last paragraph which helped the sentence you mention flow better. I also agree with your thinking of putting a comma in the first paragraph. Great catch!
Thanks,
Emma
Hi Emma!
First off, LOVE that title. This post was a great read. Here are some of my suggestions (excluding ones that have already been touched on by other commenters):
1) In the second sentence, “bird’s” should be “birds’” since you’re not talking about an individual, but a group
2) In the last sentence of your first paragraph, “which is believed to provide an explanation for” could be reduced to one word like “allowing” or something similar (and adjust the rest of your sentence accordingly of course) to avoid flowery phrasing
3) “Magnetoreception”, “radical pair mechanism”, and “chryptochrome” should have quotation marks around them; this is to typeset the terms since they refer to new concepts/principles (chryptochrome is a protein, I know, but I believe that the term still needs to be “typesetted”)
4) The second last sentence of your third paragraph does not flow well. Personally, I would replace “as” with “when” or rephrase
5) I believe that birds have one internal compass per body so I would change “compasses” to be singular (unless they do have more than one compass and if so, disregard)
6) The second sentence of your last paragraph includes “will poses”. I would stick with “will pose” or simply “poses” (if you reword it)
7) Stick with a tense. You switch back and forth from past and present tense quite a bit.
Overall, the idea and your content is great. My greatest suggestion is read your sentences out loud after you finish writing one to see if it flows well, if it’s relevant, and if it makes sense. Do this with your entire post as well; this will help you decide where to place a comma or punctuation mark, whether or not your sentence needs to be rephrased, etc.
Have fun editing,
Jemimah
Hi Jemimah,
Thank you for the feedback it was very helpful! You made some great suggestion and I have made edits accordingly. Great catch with the quotation marks around words that refer to new concepts/principles! After re-reading my blog with these suggestions in mind I did notice there were a couple instances where I switched between tenses and have fixed these accordingly. I really appreciate your comments and I am glad you like the title!