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Avian Navigation: Pigeon Homing as a Paradigm

:	Hans G. Wallraff
:	Avian Navigation: Pigeon Homing as a Paradigm
:	Springer-Verlag
:	9783540264323
:	1
:	CHF 115.60
:

:	Sonstiges
:	English

:	229
:	Wasserzeichen/DRM
:	PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
:	PDF

How migratory birds can navigate home from their wintering grounds to their breeding sites over hundreds and thousands of kilometres has been an admired mystery over more than a century. Profound advances towards a solution of this problem have been achieved with a model bird, the homing pigeon. This monograph summarizes our current knowledge about pigeon homing, about the birds' application of a sun compass and a magnetic compass, of a visual topographical map within a familiar area and -- most surprisingly -- of an olfactory map using atmospheric chemosignals as indicators of position in distant unfamiliar areas.

Dr. Hans G. Wallraff was scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology who investigated navigation and orientation of birds over almost 50 years.

	Preface	5
	Contents	8
	Introduction	12
	1.1 Avian Migration and Navigation	12
	1.2 Why Investigate Domestic Homing Pigeons?	13
	1.3 On Terms and Definitions	15
	Observation Data Used to Investigate Pigeon Homing	18
	2.1 Initial Orientation	18
	2.2 Homing Performance	22
	2.3 Homing Routes	23
	2.4 Recoveries	25
	2.5 Cage Experiments	27
	Basic Features of Pigeon Homing	28
	3.1 Homing of Inexperienced Pigeons	29
	3.2 Experience Gained by Homing Flights	40
	3.3 Temporal Variability	49
	3.4 Accuracy of Homeward Orientation	53
	3.5 Spatial Range of Pigeon Homing	57
	3.6 Multiple and Mobile Home Sites	58
	3.7 Conclusions and Perspectives	59
	Potential Input Signals Exploitable for Home- Finding	64
	4.1 Directional References	64
	4.2 Indicators of Position	65
	The Role of the Sun	70
	5.1 Effects of Shifting the Birds’Circadian Clock	70
	5.2 Linkage Between Sun Compass and Map	75
	5.3 Orientation Under Overcast Skies	77
	5.4 Conclusions and Perspectives	79
	The Role of the Geomagnetic Field	80
	6.1 Effects of Artificial Magnetic Fields	80
	6.2 Geomagnetic Irregularities	88
	6.3 Conclusions and Perspectives	89
	The Role of the Chemical Atmosphere	98
	7.1 Effects of Olfactory Deprivation	98
	7.2 Dependence on the Air the Pigeons Breathe	107
	7.3 Olfactory Misguidance	112
	7.4 Spatial Range and Variability of Olfaction-Based Homing	118
	7.5 Varying Home Site Conditions in Aviary Experiments	122
	7.6 Spatial Structures in the Chemical Atmosphere	131
	7.7 Avian Olfactory Perception: A Suitable Tool for Navigation?	147
	7.8 Arguments Against Olfactory Navigation – and Replies	149
	7.9 Conclusions and Perspectives	154
	The Role of the Visual Landscape	160
	8.1 The Landscape as a Home-Guiding Factor	160
	8.2 The Landscape as a Disturbing Factor	168
	8.3 Conclusions and Perspectives	170
	The Neural Bases of Pigeon Homing	172
	9.1 The Hippocampus and the Familiar-Landscape Map	172
	9.2 The Hippocampus and the Olfactory Map	176
	9.3 The Piriform Cortex and the Olfactory Map	177
	9.4 Roles of Other Brain Regions and Hemispheric Lateralization	178
	9.5 Conclusions and Perspectives	178
	Homing in Other Birds	180
	10.1 Experimental Approaches	180
	10.2 Homing in Natural Life	187
	10.3 Conclusions and Perspectives	192
	Research History: Blind Alleys and an Unexpected Passage	194
	Overall Synthesis and Perspective	198
	12.1 Environmental Cues Involved in Home-Finding Processes	198
	12.2 Two Homing Mechanisms	199
	12.3 Challenges for Future Research	200
	12.4 Outlook	203
	Appendix: Notes on Selected Particulars	206
	References	216
	Subject Index	236