Scientists: Sharks Use Earth s Magnetic Field to Travel voanews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from voanews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PORTLAND: Sharks use the Earth’s magnetic field as a sort of natural GPS to navigate journeys that take them great distances across the world’s oceans, scientists have found.
Researchers said their marine laboratory experiments with a small species of shark confirm long-held speculation that sharks use magnetic fields as aids to navigation behavior observed in other marine animals such as sea turtles.
Their study, published this month in the journal Current Biology, also sheds light on why sharks are able to traverse seas and find their way back to feed, breed and give birth, said marine policy specialist Bryan Keller, one of the study authors.
Sharks use Earths magnetic field as a GPS, scientists say
Published On
Sharks use Earths magnetic field as a GPS, scientists say
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Sharks use the Earth’s magnetic field as a sort of natural GPS to navigate journeys that take them great distances across the world’s oceans, scientists have found.
Researchers said their marine laboratory experiments with a small species of shark confirm long-held speculation that sharks use magnetic fields as aids to navigation behavior observed in other marine animals such as sea turtles.
Their study, published this month in the journal Current Biology, also sheds light on why sharks are able to traverse seas and find their way back to feed, breed and give birth, said marine policy specialist Bryan Keller, one of the study authors.
Sharks use Earth s magnetic field as a GPS, scientists say – The Durango Herald durangoherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from durangoherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sharks use Earth’s magnetic field as ‘GPS’ guide: study
The Guardian, MIAMI, Florida
Scientists in Florida have concluded that sharks possess an internal navigation system similar to GPS that allows them to use Earth’s magnetic forces to travel long distances with accuracy.
The researchers from Florida State University made the discovery by subjecting 20 bonnethead sharks, part of the hammerhead family, to “magnetic displacement” exercises that replicated geographical locations hundreds of kilometers from where they were captured.
When the sharks were exposed to magnetic cues emulating a site about 600km south of where they were captured, they turned to swim north, exhibiting a “homeward orientation” suggesting the use of magnetic forces in their navigation, said Bryan Keller, the lead author of the study.