Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2022 Jan;208(1):41-67. doi: 10.1007/s00359-021-01529-8. Epub 2022 Jan 9.
In addition to providing animals with a source of directional or 'compass' information, Earth's magnetic field also provides a potential source of positional or 'map' information that animals might exploit to assess location. In less than a generation, the idea that animals use Earth's magnetic field as a kind of map has gone from a contentious hypothesis to a well-established tenet of animal navigation. Diverse animals ranging from lobsters to birds are now known to use magnetic positional information for a variety of purposes, including staying on track along migratory pathways, adjusting food intake at appropriate points in a migration, remaining within a suitable oceanic region, and navigating toward specific goals. Recent findings also indicate that sea turtles, salmon, and at least some birds imprint on the magnetic field of their natal area when young and use this information to facilitate return as adults, a process that may underlie long-distance natal homing (a.k.a. natal philopatry) in many species. Despite recent progress, much remains to be learned about the organization of magnetic maps, how they develop, and how animals use them in navigation.
除了为动物提供方向或“罗盘”信息的来源外，地球磁场还可能为动物提供位置或“地图”信息的潜在来源，动物可以利用这些信息来评估位置。在不到一代人的时间里，动物利用地球磁场作为一种地图的想法已经从一个有争议的假设发展成为动物导航的一个既定原则。现在已经知道，从龙虾到鸟类等各种动物都在利用磁位置信息来实现各种目的，包括在迁徙路径上保持轨道、在迁徙过程中在适当的时间点调整食物摄入量、保持在合适的海洋区域内以及朝着特定目标导航。最近的发现还表明，海龟、鲑鱼，甚至至少一些鸟类在幼年时会在出生地的磁场上留下印记，并利用这些信息帮助它们成年后返回，这个过程可能是许多物种进行长距离出生地归巢（又称出生地恋家）的基础。尽管最近取得了进展，但关于磁图的组织、它们的发展以及动物如何在导航中使用它们，仍有许多需要了解。
