Here
are the definitions of the four ways animals navigate, with the examples Dr.
Caldwell gave in class for each. Excuse
the possible misspellings! This is just
a rough outline to help you organize your notes:
PILOTING
– Definition: using landmarks to navigate.
Examples:
1.
Grey whales - keep the coastline on their right as they move north in the
spring, and on their left as they move south in the fall.
2.
Salmon – they learn the taste/odor characteristics at each choice point, as
shown by the dumping alcohol experiment.
(I guess you can consider taste/odor as a “landmark”)
3.
Caribou / wild a beast (? spelling) –
the old cows (female) lead the migration by remembering landmarks.
DEAD
RECKONING (also known as inertial guidance)– Definition: keep track of how far
you have gone, all the turns you have made, and in what direction (this is just
like paying attention to where you have gone so you can get back).
Examples:
1.
Ants – they measure their “footsteps” as they leave the anthill so that they
can get back. Two experiments proved
this: a.) The one where they moved the anthill and b.) The one where they
introduced a hill
2.
Homing (spelling?) pigeons do NOT use dead reckoning, as evidenced by the
experiment where they were shaken for hours while being moved.
COMPASS
ORIENTATION – Definition: using the sun or the stars as a compass to tell which
way is North/South/East/West.
Examples:
1.
Monarch butterflies – use sun compass
2.
Emlin indigo bunting birds (spelling?) -
use the moving stars as a compass, with
the North star as the reference point, as evidenced by the planetarium experiments.
TRUE
NAVIAGATION – Definition: I can not find a good definition for this, but
something like the following should work: “Using the Earth’s magnetic field
like a compass needle while also being aware of other markers like landmarks,
odor, and sound to help guide directional decisions.” This is the most complicated form of navigation.
Examples:
1.
Homing (spelling?) pigeons