Magnetic materials in otoliths of bird and fish lagena and their function

Citation
Y. Harada et al., Magnetic materials in otoliths of bird and fish lagena and their function, ACT OTO-LAR, 121(5), 2001, pp. 590-595
Citations number
30
Categorie Soggetti
Otolaryngology,"da verificare
Journal title
ACTA OTO-LARYNGOLOGICA
ISSN journal
00016489 → ACNP
Volume
121
Issue
5
Year of publication
2001
Pages
590 - 595
Database
ISI
SICI code
0001-6489(200107)121:5<590:MMIOOB>2.0.ZU;2-F
Abstract
The mystery of the homing ability of pigeons has been the subject of much i nterest and it is widely believed that information from the earth's magneti c field may be involved. However, no specific magnetic sensory organ has ye t been identified. The recent finding of magnetic materials in the lagenal otolith of fish and birds raises the possibility that these structures may be key elements in the elusive magnetic sensory system. For the elemental a nalysis of materials X-ray fluorescence using synchrotron radiation is one of the most powerful techniques available and was used in this study for an alysis of the otoliths. By comparing the compositions of the three differen t kinds of otoliths among several species of sea fish and birds, we found t hat the saccular and utricular otoliths rarely contain detectable levels of iron but that iron is present in significant quantities in the lagenal oto liths of the birds. The lagenal otolith comprises tiny magnetic particles o f low inertia that are displaced by imposed magnetic fields, providing the animal with geomagnetic sensory input, from which the brain would infer nav igational information.