Avian magnetoreception: elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds.
The magnetic field sensors enabling birds to extract orientational information from the Earth's magnetic field have remained enigmatic. Our previously published results from homing pigeons have made us suggest that the iron containing sensory dendrites in the inner dermal lining of the upper be...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2010-02-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20169083/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1818827076846747648 |
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| author | Gerald Falkenberg Gerta Fleissner Kirsten Schuchardt Markus Kuehbacher Peter Thalau Henrik Mouritsen Dominik Heyers Gerd Wellenreuther Guenther Fleissner |
| author_facet | Gerald Falkenberg Gerta Fleissner Kirsten Schuchardt Markus Kuehbacher Peter Thalau Henrik Mouritsen Dominik Heyers Gerd Wellenreuther Guenther Fleissner |
| author_sort | Gerald Falkenberg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The magnetic field sensors enabling birds to extract orientational information from the Earth's magnetic field have remained enigmatic. Our previously published results from homing pigeons have made us suggest that the iron containing sensory dendrites in the inner dermal lining of the upper beak are a candidate structure for such an avian magnetometer system. Here we show that similar structures occur in two species of migratory birds (garden warbler, Sylvia borin and European robin, Erithacus rubecula) and a non-migratory bird, the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus). In all these bird species, histological data have revealed dendrites of similar shape and size, all containing iron minerals within distinct subcellular compartments of nervous terminals of the median branch of the Nervus ophthalmicus. We also used microscopic X-ray absorption spectroscopy analyses to identify the involved iron minerals to be almost completely Fe III-oxides. Magnetite (Fe II/III) may also occur in these structures, but not as a major Fe constituent. Our data suggest that this complex dendritic system in the beak is a common feature of birds, and that it may form an essential sensory basis for the evolution of at least certain types of magnetic field guided behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T00:37:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-37a9be9a9bef4001935e39b04e4cd5ea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T00:37:49Z |
| publishDate | 2010-02-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-37a9be9a9bef4001935e39b04e4cd5ea2022-12-21T20:44:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032010-02-0152e923110.1371/journal.pone.0009231Avian magnetoreception: elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds.Gerald FalkenbergGerta FleissnerKirsten SchuchardtMarkus KuehbacherPeter ThalauHenrik MouritsenDominik HeyersGerd WellenreutherGuenther FleissnerThe magnetic field sensors enabling birds to extract orientational information from the Earth's magnetic field have remained enigmatic. Our previously published results from homing pigeons have made us suggest that the iron containing sensory dendrites in the inner dermal lining of the upper beak are a candidate structure for such an avian magnetometer system. Here we show that similar structures occur in two species of migratory birds (garden warbler, Sylvia borin and European robin, Erithacus rubecula) and a non-migratory bird, the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus). In all these bird species, histological data have revealed dendrites of similar shape and size, all containing iron minerals within distinct subcellular compartments of nervous terminals of the median branch of the Nervus ophthalmicus. We also used microscopic X-ray absorption spectroscopy analyses to identify the involved iron minerals to be almost completely Fe III-oxides. Magnetite (Fe II/III) may also occur in these structures, but not as a major Fe constituent. Our data suggest that this complex dendritic system in the beak is a common feature of birds, and that it may form an essential sensory basis for the evolution of at least certain types of magnetic field guided behavior.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20169083/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Gerald Falkenberg Gerta Fleissner Kirsten Schuchardt Markus Kuehbacher Peter Thalau Henrik Mouritsen Dominik Heyers Gerd Wellenreuther Guenther Fleissner Avian magnetoreception: elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds. PLoS ONE |
| title | Avian magnetoreception: elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds. |
| title_full | Avian magnetoreception: elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds. |
| title_fullStr | Avian magnetoreception: elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Avian magnetoreception: elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds. |
| title_short | Avian magnetoreception: elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds. |
| title_sort | avian magnetoreception elaborate iron mineral containing dendrites in the upper beak seem to be a common feature of birds |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20169083/?tool=EBI |
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