Sharks use Earth’s magnetic fields as a map when making long-distance migrations, scientists say.

Key points:

• Sharks swim vast distances, with many returning to the same locations every year
• US researchers have found sharks use magnetic fields to orient themselves towards their preferred site
• Their magnetic navigation could explain why sharks from the same species are genetically distinct in different locations

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-05-07/sharks-read-magnetic-fields-like-a-map/100119880

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00476-0

I must read this, because as of now I’m not convinced that any animal uses the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.

If it did, it would go extinct every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

mollwollfumble said:

I must read this, because as of now I’m not convinced that any animal uses the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.

If it did, it would go extinct every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

Maybe the animals and birds just turn around, just saying.

mollwollfumble said:

I must read this, because as of now I’m not convinced that any animal uses the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.

If it did, it would go extinct every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

so you reckon humans got 150k years to go

Tau.Neutrino said:

mollwollfumble said:

I must read this, because as of now I’m not convinced that any animal uses the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.

If it did, it would go extinct every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

Maybe the animals and birds just turn around, just saying.

When the Magnetic field flips that is.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

mollwollfumble said:

I must read this, because as of now I’m not convinced that any animal uses the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.

If it did, it would go extinct every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

Maybe the animals and birds just turn around, just saying.

When the Magnetic field flips that is.

Or they keep going around to other side again.

:)

SCIENCE said:

mollwollfumble said:

I must read this, because as of now I’m not convinced that any animal uses the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.

If it did, it would go extinct every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

so you reckon humans got 150k years to go

Humans don’t rely on the Earth’s magnetic field for navigation.
Oh wait on, most don’t.

mollwollfumble said:

I must read this, because as of now I’m not convinced that any animal uses the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.

If it did, it would go extinct every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

Maybe they have back-up systems.

The Rev Dodgson said:

mollwollfumble said:

I must read this, because as of now I’m not convinced that any animal uses the earth’s magnetic field for navigation.

If it did, it would go extinct every 200,000 to 300,000 years.

Maybe they have back-up systems.

nah RAID usually use magnetic media too

LINK.

Reversal occurrences are statistically random. There have been 183 reversals over the last 83 million years (on average once every ~450,000 years). The latest, the Brunhes–Matuyama reversal, occurred 780,000 years ago, with widely varying estimates of how quickly it happened. Other sources estimate that the time that it takes for a reversal to complete is on average around 7000 years for the four most recent reversals. Clement (2004) suggests that this duration is dependent on latitude, with shorter durations at low latitudes, and longer durations at mid and high latitudes. Although variable, the duration of a full reversal is typically between 2000 and 12000 years.

i’d guess other creatures that use something like a magnetic compass need adjust the relationship of that mechanism to other things, just as there is more to the dial face of a compass, and the user positions the pointer relative to the markings on the face, in fact you can make your own compass and have it point in any direction, name the directions anything you like, and further when a person uses a map often corrections are made for magnetic north being different to grid north, or whatever it is

and magnetic pole drift has been around for a long time, through a lot of evolution of life on earth

imagine the dilemma for humans when the next reversal occurs, will the north pole still be called the north pole, I think so, and is it really a magnetic north pole now, or is it really a south magnetic pole