https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-022-00681-9
Regular Article
Gravitation and bird navigation
High Technologies Institute, Kyiv, Ukraine
Received:
18
March
2022
Accepted:
22
September
2022
Published online:
6
October
2022
The proposed gravity vector hypothesis to explain long-distance bird navigation and homing is consonant with a new direction in navigation technology—gravitational navigation, which uses the Earth’s gravitational field as the most stable geophysical factor. Gravity vector hypothesis declares that birds have an innate mechanism for remembering of gravity vector at home location and perceive gravity vector along the flight path. According to physical model of the hypothesis to return home from unfamiliar location the bird tends to reduce mismatch between gravity vectors at home and at point of flight path. Biological interpretation of hypothesis uses biomolecules with gyroscopic properties to memorize the direction of the gravity vector at home location and the vestibular apparatus to fix the direction of gravity vector at the points of the flight path. The hypothesis explains the influence of the Earth’s gravity anomalies and the gravitational field of the Moon on bird’s orientation behaviour. Unique properties of pigeon gravimeter are shown. Gravity vector hypothesis is of interest for fundamental physics: the gravitational and magnetic navigation hypotheses can be united using a unified field theory declaring the unity of the nature of the gravitational and magnetic fields.
Physics of Animal Navigation. Guest editor: Miguel A. F. Sanjuán.
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