magnetoreception
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.35|Experiments on European robins, which are migratory, suggest their magnetic sense makes use of the quantum [[radical pair mechanism. ]]
Article
19 sectionsContents
- History
- Proposed mechanisms
- In animals
- Cryptochrome
- Iron-based
- Electromagnetic induction
- Passive alignment in bacteria
- Unanswered questions
- Taxonomic range
- In molluscs
- In insects
- In vertebrates
- In fish
- In amphibians
- In reptiles
- In birds
- In mammals
- See also
- References
thumb|upright=1.35|Experiments on European robins, which are migratory, suggest their magnetic sense makes use of the quantum [[radical pair mechanism. ]]
Magnetoreception is a sense which allows an organism to detect the Earth's magnetic field. Animals with this sense include some arthropods, molluscs, and vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals). The sense is mainly used for orientation and navigation, but it may help some animals to form regional maps. Experiments on migratory birds provide evidence that they make use of a cryptochrome protein in the eye, relying on the quantum radical pair mechanism to perceive magnetic fields. This effect is extremely sensitive to weak magnetic fields, and readily disturbed by radio-frequency interference, unlike a conventional iron compass.