Event Abstract Back to Event Magnetic compass orientation and polarized light sensitivity in birds - behavioural and physiological mechanisms of cue integration Rachel Muheim1* 1 Lund University, Department of Biology, Sweden Birds use multiple cues for orientation and navigation, like, e.g., directional information from the Earth’s magnetic field, stars, the sun and the skylight polarization pattern. Despite of intense research, it is still unclear which of these compass cues provides the primary reference, and how they interact. We demonstrated in a series of cue conflict and cue calibration experiments that migratory songbirds recalibrate their magnetic compass by polarized light cues from the region of the sky near the horizon at sunrise and sunset. As a consequence of these findings, we proposed that birds average the sunrise and sunset calibration to obtain a true geographic reference system that is independent of latitude and time of year. It is still unknown how and where these two cues are integrated. While we have good evidence that magnetic compass sensitivity is mediated by a light-dependent radical-pair process in the avian retina, it remains one of the big mysteries in sensory biology, how birds are able to perceive polarized light. In fact, despite of convincing evidence that birds use polarized light cues for orientation and navigation, unequivocal, direct experimental evidence for polarized light sensitivity is still largely lacking. In order to test the behavioural and physiological properties of polarized light sensitivity in birds, we established a behavioural assay that allows us to train birds to find food along a polarization axis. In parallel, the same assay can be used to test birds for magnetic compass orientation, thus it allows us to investigate the two senses either separately or in combination with each other, providing us with the necessary tool to investigate the similarities of the two senses in more detail. First results point towards an interesting interaction between the two cues and some intriguing parallels between the functional and physiological properties of polarized light reception and light-dependent magnetoreception. Keywords: cue integration, Magnetic compass, Orientation, Polarized light cues Conference: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012. Presentation Type: Invited Symposium (only for people who have been invited to a particular symposium) Topic: Orientation and Navigation Citation: Muheim R (2012). Magnetic compass orientation and polarized light sensitivity in birds - behavioural and physiological mechanisms of cue integration. Conference Abstract: Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00046 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 Apr 2012; Published Online: 07 Jul 2012. * Correspondence: Dr. Rachel Muheim, Lund University, Department of Biology, Lund, Sweden, rachel.muheim@biol.lu.se Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Rachel Muheim Google Rachel Muheim Google Scholar Rachel Muheim PubMed Rachel Muheim Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.