• DOI:10.1038/s41586-018-0176-1
• Corpus ID: 46953903

Long-distance navigation and magnetoreception in migratory animals

@article{Mouritsen2018LongdistanceNA,
  title={Long-distance navigation and magnetoreception in migratory animals},
  author={Henrik Mouritsen},
  journal={Nature},
  year={2018},
  volume={558},
  pages={50-59}
}

• H. Mouritsen
• Published 1 June 2018
• Biology, Psychology
• Nature

For centuries, humans have been fascinated by how migratory animals find their way over thousands of kilometres. Here, I review the mechanisms used in animal orientation and navigation with a particular focus on long-distance migrants and magnetoreception. I contend that any long-distance navigational task consists of three phases and that no single cue or mechanism will enable animals to navigate with pinpoint accuracy over thousands of kilometres. Multiscale and multisensory cue integration in the brain is needed. I conclude by raising twenty important mechanistic questions related to long-distance animal navigation that should be solved over the next twenty years.A Review of the cues and mechanisms used by animals to navigate over long distances, with a particular emphasis on magnetoreception.