TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wiltschko, Roswitha
A1  - Wiltschko, Wolfgang
T1  - Animal navigation: how animals use environmental factors to find their way
T2  - European physical journal special topics
N2  - Animals use the geomagnetic field and astronomical cues to obtain compass information. The magnetic compass is not a uniform mechanism, as several functional modes have been described in different animal groups. The Sun compass requires the internal clock to interpret the position of the Sun. For star compass orientation, night-migrating birds seem to use the star pattern as a whole, without involving the internal clock. Both the astronomical compass mechanisms are based on learning processes to adapt them to the geographic latitude where the animals live and, in long-living animals, to compensate for the seasonal changes. Several mechanisms are used to determine the compass course to a goal. Using information collected during the outward journey is mostly done by path integration: recording the direction with a compass and integrating its twists and turns. Migratory animals have innate programs to guide them to their still unknown goal. Highly mobile animals with large ranges develop a so-called navigational ‘map’, a mental representation of the spatial distribution of navigational factors within their home region and their migration route. The nature of the factors involved is not yet entirely clear; magnetic intensity and inclination are the ones best supported so far.
Y1  - 2022
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/69631
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-696316
SN  - 1951-6401
N1  - Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL
VL  - 232
IS  - 2
SP  - 237
EP  - 252
PB  - Springer
CY  - Berlin ; Heidelberg
ER  -