Magnetoreception in rodents was studied in this Ph.D. thesis. Behavioural evidence for compass magnetic orientation was found in two subterranean African rodents: the social giant mole-rat (Fukomys mechowii) and solitary silvery mole-rat (Heliophobius argenteocinereus) and epigeic rodent bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus). The study is also focused on the role of magnetic orientation in solving the orientation task in Morris water maze in bank vole.

The magnetic orientation was established in several species of rodents, but the mechanism of its perception has not been determined. Aim of this work was to verify magnetic sense in the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) and try to solve the nature of its magnetoreception in tests carried out in total darkness and when the horizontal component was reversed and the vertical component was inverted. A spontaneous directional preference in the magnetic field was tested in circular arena.

The magnetic orientation was study in several species of rodents. Aim of this work was verify magnetic sense in two species of subterranean rodents: the giant mole-rat and the silvery mole-rat. A spontaneous directional preference in the magnetic field was tested in circular arena.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第19936号 / 農博第2186号 / 新制||農||1044(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H28||N5009(農学部図書室) / 33022 / 京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻 / (主査)教授 木村 恒久, 教授 西尾 嘉之, 教授 髙野 俊幸 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

All five classes of vertebrates use the geomagnetic field for spatial orientation. The geomagnetic field can be used to derive both 'map' and 'compass' information. There is evidence for two different mechanisms used to sense the magnetic field, the radical pair mechanism (RPM) and the magnetite based mechanism (MBM). C57BL/6 laboratory mice can rely on directional information from the magnetic field to position their nests and to solve a water maze task. The primary objective of this research was to characterize the magnetic compass of C57BL/6 laboratory mice in the plus water maze task. These experiments explored sources of variation in magnetic responses and investigated the underlying magnetic compass orientation mechanism in C57BL/6 mice. The results provide evidence that the mouse magnetic compass is sensitive to low-level radiofrequency fields, consistent with the use of the RPM for magnetic orientation. Surprisingly, the results also suggest that C57BL/6 mice have a polarity sensitive compass, consistent with the use of a MBM for magnetic orientation. These experiments confirm that mice have a specialized magnetic compass sense. Furthermore, despite the controlled environment in which these laboratory experiments were conducted, a variety of factors can increase the variability in the response. Future experiments are needed to further characterize the mouse magnetic compass, as there is a possibility of a hybrid magnetic response where both magnetoreception mechanisms could be used for spatial orientation. / Master of Science

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第19038号 / 農博第2116号 / 新制||農||1031(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H27||N4920(農学部図書室) / 31989 / 京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻 / (主査)教授 木村 恒久, 教授 西尾 嘉之, 教授 髙野 俊幸 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

The focus of this research was the spontaneous magnetic alignment responses of animals. We show that snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) and crayfish (Cambarus sciotensis) spontaneously align their body axes relative to the magnetic field. In snapping turtles, this response is sensitive to low-level radio frequency fields, consistent with a mechanism involving a light-dependent radical pair mechanism. Findings from the turtle experiments also suggest that the Earth's magnetic field plays an important role in encoding spatial information in novel surroundings, and may help to organize multiple locales into a 'mental map' of familiar space. Given the importance of magnetic input in many aspects of spatial behavior, another important finding was that magnetic alignment of yearling turtles was disrupted by high levels of maternally transferred mercury, an industrial waste product found at high levels in some fresh water ecosystems. In crayfish, we investigated the effects of ectosymbionts (Annelida: Branchiobdellida) on magnetic alignment responses. Interestingly, the response of crayfish to magnetic cues parallels the complex symbiotic interaction between crayfish and their ectosymbiotic worms, which changes from mutualistic to parasitic with increasing worm density. Our working hypothesis was that these changes in spatial behavior may increase or decrease contact to other crayfish, and therefore increase or decrease transmission rates. Next, to address the ontogeny of the SMA, we attempted to replicate an earlier study showing a possible magnetic alignment response in chicken embryos. Although chicken embryos did show non-random alignment, we were not able to find a magnetic effect. Alignment is also an important feature of animal constructions and is very likely to have fitness consequences, which we explored in woodpecker cavity alignments in a meta-analysis of available global data. The latitudinal and continental pattern in 23 species of woodpeckers suggests that an alignment response can have the proximate function to regulate microclimate in the cavity and therefore, presumably, optimize incubation temperatures and increase hatching success. Overall, the presented findings show how experimental and observational studies of spontaneous alignment behavior can provide insight into the ecology and sensory biology of a wide range of animals. / Ph. D.

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