A seasonal switch in compass orientation in a high-flying migrant moth
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Chapman, Jason W., Reynolds, Don R. 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8749-7491, Hill, Jane K., Sivell, Duncan, Smith, Alan D. and Woiwod, Ian P.
(2008)
A seasonal switch in compass orientation in a high-flying migrant moth.
Current Biology, 18 (19).
R908-R909.
ISSN 0960-9822
(doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.014)
Abstract
Most individual insect migrants have only a short time ‘window’ for migration (just a few nights) and comparatively slow airspeeds. Thus, to achieve long-range displacement into temporary breeding habitats, migrants must hitch a ride on fast-moving, high-altitude winds [1]. We recently demonstrated that the migratory noctuid moth Autographa gamma has evolved a compass mechanism which facilitates the successful return of autumn migrants from the United Kingdom to their winter ranges further south via the selection of favourable high-altitude winds [2]; this was the first convincing evidence of such a mechanism in insects that migrate predominantly at high altitudes. As pointed out in a commentary on that work [3], the question of whether or not a similar mechanism promotes northwards migration of such insects during the spring remained unanswered — we do not know if there is a reversal of the migrants' preferred compass orientation according to season. Here, studying A. gamma once again, we report the first evidence that a nocturnal migrant moth controls the direction of both its spring (‘forward’) and autumn (‘return’) high-altitude migrations, and that it also optimises its flight-altitude and compensates for cross-wind drift in a similar manner in both directions
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | insect migration, compensation, drift |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QL Zoology |
| Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: | Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Agriculture, Health & Environment Department Faculty of Engineering & Science |
| Related URLs: | |
| Last Modified: | 27 Jan 2020 13:44 |
| URI: | http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/2113 |
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