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Bat orientation using Earth's magnetic field

Nature volume 444, page 702 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Bats famously orientate at night by echolocation1, but this works over only a short range, and little is known about how they navigate over longer distances2. Here we show that the homing behaviour of Eptesicus fuscus, known as the big brown bat, can be altered by artificially shifting the Earth's magnetic field, indicating that these bats rely on a magnetic compass to return to their home roost. This finding adds to the impressive array of sensory abilities possessed by this animal for navigation in the dark.

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Figure 1: Headings and tracks of homing bats.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, 08544, New Jersey, USA

    Richard A. Holland, Kasper Thorup & Martin Wikelski

  2. Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Richard A. Holland

  3. Zoological Museum, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark

    Kasper Thorup

  4. Center for Macroecology, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark

    Kasper Thorup

  5. Department of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, 49008, Michigan, USA

    Maarten J. Vonhof

  6. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign-Urbana, 61820, Illinois, USA

    William W. Cochran

Authors
  1. Richard A. Holland
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  2. Kasper Thorup
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  3. Maarten J. Vonhof
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  4. William W. Cochran
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  5. Martin Wikelski
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard A. Holland.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Holland, R., Thorup, K., Vonhof, M. et al. Bat orientation using Earth's magnetic field. Nature 444, 702 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/444702a

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