NDLI: Initial orientation and homing behaviour of pigeons under the influence of short wave transmissions

Please wait, while we are loading the content...

Initial orientation and homing behaviour of pigeons under the influence of short wave transmissions

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Steiner, Igor Bruderer, Bru
Copyright Year	1999
Abstract	In order to test the potential influence of short wave radiation on the homing behaviour of pigeons we positioned two lofts with adult homing pigeons in the vicinity of a short wave transmitter. One loft was next to the transmitter and fully exposed to the radiation, the second protected against the radiation (a) by topographical features and (b) by its position in a sector that was not used for transmission during daytime. In both lofts young pigeons were raised and used for experimental flights at the age of three months. Adults accustomed to the new sites as well as young birds from the exposed and non-exposed lofts, respectively, were released some 11 km from the loft for homeward flights towards the transmitter, with and without transmission towards the relevant sector.Vanishing direction and vanishing time were not affected by the short wave radiation in any of the groups, thus corroborating earlier experiments with pigeons flying homewards from the transmitter towards distant lofts. However, all three groups raised in the absence of short wave radiation (A−, A+, J−) homed tendentially faster in situations where radiation was absent compared to situations with radiation. Pooled in one data set the three groups were significantly faster without radiation. On the other hand, the two juvenile groups raised under radiation (J1+ and J2+) homed at the same speed under both short wave situations. Furthermore, all five groups tended to choose lower flight altitudes when released under the influence of short wave radiation (significantly when groups were pooled). Besides the experiments, observations near the loft gave the impression that the pigeons kept in the exposed loft were reluctant to fly in the neighbourhood of the loft, particularly the adults.We conclude that short wave radiation can be felt by the pigeons, but does not interfere with their initial orientation. Reduced homing speeds of birds grown up without experiencing radiation, low flight levels in flights under radiation in all groups, and a general reluctance to fly of the pigeons next to the exposed loft, suggest that the radiation has an undefined negative effect on the birds. Unimpaired homing speeds in juveniles having grown up under varying field strengths suggest that homing pigeons can become accustomed to short wave radiation to a certain extent.Um den potentiellen Einfluß von Kurzwellen auf die Orientierung und das Heimkehrverhalten von Brieftauben zu testen, wurden zwei Schläge in der Nähe eines Kurzwellensenders eingerichtet, der eine der Strahlung voll ausgesetzt, der anderer in einem tagsüber nicht für Sendungen benutzten Sektor und zudem topographisch gegen den Sender geschützt. In beiden Schlägen wurden Jungtauben aufgezogen und im Alter von drei Monaten für Testflüge genutzt. Die mit bzw. ohne Kurzwellen am neuen Standort angewöhnten Alttauben sowie die mit bzw. ohne Kurzwellen an diesem Standort aufgewachsenen Jungtauben wurden von einem etwa 11 km entfernten Auflaßort für Heimflüge gegen den Sender mit und ohne Kurzwellen-Einfluß im relevanten Sektor eingesetzt.Es ergaben sich keine Unterschiede in der Anfangsorientierung zwischen den Versuchsgruppen. Dagegen flogen alle ohne Kurzwellen-Einfluß aufgewachsenen Gruppen tendenziell rascher heim, wenn kein aktueller Kurzwellen-Einfluß vorhanden war. Faßte man alle drei Gruppen zusammen, so wurde dieser Unterschied signifikant. Demgegenüber zeigten die beiden mit Strahlung aufgewachsenen Gruppen unter den beiden Strahlungsbedingungen keine unterschiedlichen Heimkehrgeschwindigkeiten. Die fünf Testgruppen zusammengefaßt zeigten geringere Flughöhen unter Kurzwellen-Einfluß. Diese Ergebnisse lassen darauf schließen, daß die Brieftauben die Kurzwellen fühlen können, daß aber ihre Anfangsorientierung dadurch nicht beeinträchtigt wird. Reduzierte Heimkehrgeschwindigkeiten und geringe Flughöhen unter Kurzwellen-Einfluß, deuten auf einen störenden Effekt der elektromagnetischen Felder hin. Das Verhalten der unter Kurzwellen aufgewachsenen juvenilen Gruppen erlaubt den Schluß, daß sich Tauben an gewisse Kurzwellenbedingungen gewöhnen können.
Starting Page	165
Ending Page	177
Page Count	13
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00218375
Journal	Journal für Ornithologie
Volume Number	140
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	14390361
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	1999-01-01
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Electromagnetism short-wave radiation homing pigeon orientation habituation Animal Ecology Evolutionary Biology Zoology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Animal Science and Zoology

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Olfactory navigation by birds

Re-orientation in clock-shifted homing pigeons subjected to a magnetic disturbance: a study with GPS data loggers

Light-dependent information: influence of loft conditions on young pigeon’s navigational system

Orientation behavior of homing pigeons at the Gernsheim anomaly

Do bearing magnets affect the extent of deflection in clock-shifted homing pigeons?

Loft features influence the processing of navigational information by pigeons

Weather significantly influences the migratory behaviour of night-migratory songbirds tested indoors in orientation cages

Initial orientation of homing pigeons on the Atlantic coast of Morocco is affected by a strong preferred compass direction (PCD)

When does bearing magnets affect the size of deflection in clock-shifted homing pigeons?

Initial orientation and homing behaviour of pigeons under the influence of short wave transmissions

Similar Documents

Olfactory navigation by birds

Re-orientation in clock-shifted homing pigeons subjected to a magnetic disturbance: a study with GPS data loggers

Light-dependent information: influence of loft conditions on young pigeon’s navigational system

Orientation behavior of homing pigeons at the Gernsheim anomaly

Do bearing magnets affect the extent of deflection in clock-shifted homing pigeons?

Loft features influence the processing of navigational information by pigeons

Weather significantly influences the migratory behaviour of night-migratory songbirds tested indoors in orientation cages

Initial orientation of homing pigeons on the Atlantic coast of Morocco is affected by a strong preferred compass direction (PCD)

When does bearing magnets affect the size of deflection in clock-shifted homing pigeons?

Initial orientation and homing behaviour of pigeons under the influence of short wave transmissions