The Nature of the True Navigation map of Migratory Songbirds

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

Martin Wikelski IOS-0744704 The Nature of the True Navigation Map of Migratory Songbirds Despite more than 50 years of intensive research on how migratory songbirds navigate between breeding and wintering grounds, the navigational map of birds remains unknown. This project attempts to resolve this question in a model system of migratory songbirds, the White-crowned sparrow, that breeds in Alaska and winters in California. Advanced radio-tracking technology will be employed to follow migratory birds for long distances in the wild. It is known from previous research that adult birds use map information when they migrate south from Alaska: Adults that were translocated during their migration from Washington State to New Jersey flew back towards California. Juveniles exposed to the same challenge continued to migrate south in New Jersey, indicating that juveniles navigate based only on an innate compass bearing. This difference between adults (possessing a map) and juveniles (possessing only a compass) provides an ideal system to manipulate sensory cues and test orientation success in wild migratory birds, navigating in the field, rather than in the laboratory. This project will track 24 adult and 24 juvenile white-crowned sparrows during fall migration every year for 3 years. Researchers will expose 1/3 of the birds to olfactory deprivation (testing the olfactory map hypothesis), 1/3 of the birds to a magnetic pulse (testing the magnetic map hypothesis), and will use 1/3 of the birds as controls. From the orientation success of adult birds it will be possible to determine which cues are essential for the navigational map in migratory birds. This project will be able to i) test and develop new tracking methodologies for small mobile organisms allowing for the monitoring of agricultural pest species such as locusts and disease vectors and ii) attract K-12 students to the study of songbird migration via the ?Science Buddies? network.