Even when landlocked for several generations, Atlantic salmon can sense magnetic fields and use them to navigate, according to new research.

Previous studies have documented Pacific salmon's ability to sense magnetic fields. To test whether Atlantic salmon also use Earth's magnetic field to navigate, scientists designed a series of fish pins, each with differently oriented magnetic fields.

Researchers replicated the Earth's magnetic field using copper-coated wooden coils. The experimental fish pins were installed in Oregon's Hosmer Lake, where Atlantic salmon, originally transplanted from Maine, have been living living for 60 years.

Scientists observed the behavior of 1,150 juvenile Atlantic salmon inside the pins.

"We wanted to see how Atlantic salmon would respond if we put them into different magnetic fields at the boundaries of Pacific salmon oceanic range," Michelle Scanlan, research scientist at Oregon State University, said in a news release. "If we put them into an extreme northern field, would they 'course-correct' and align themselves in a southerly direction, and vice-versa? And the answer was yes. They clearly aligned themselves in the tank to adjust to an appropriate magnetic field signal."

The new findings, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest Atlantic salmon don't lose their electromagnetic navigational abilities.

Atlantic salmon are routinely bred on fish farms. Study authors surmise farmed fish could use their navigational abilities to explore and invade new territories if they were to escape their confines.

Last year, nearly 300,000 Atlantic salmon escaped an aquaculture pin in the Puget Sound. This year, one of the fish was found 40 miles up the Skagit River, which flows into the Puget Sound.

"Why didn't the Hosmer Lake fish lose their ability to navigate?" Putman said. "It apparently isn't a 'use it or lose it' skill. It may be possible that they have some finer-scale navigation tools at their disposal to use in a lake. Even at small-scales, fish are confronted by a variety of spatial tasks that might benefit from use of magnetic cues -- from traveling in a straight line to maneuvering through the water column. More research is needed to answer those questions."

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Turbidity currents are not just currents, but involve movement of the seafloor itself
Moss Landing CA (SPX) Oct 15, 2018
Turbidity currents have historically been described as fast-moving currents that sweep down submarine canyons, carrying sand and mud into the deep sea. But a new paper in Nature Communications shows that, rather than just consisting of sediment-laden seawater flowing over the seafloor, turbidity currents also involve large-scale movements of the seafloor itself. This dramatic discovery, the result of an 18-month-long, multi-institutional study of Monterey Canyon, could help ocean engineers avoid d ... read more