Dogs are sensitive to small variations of the Earth's magnetic field(frontiersinzoology.com)
frontiersinzoology.com
Dogs are sensitive to small variations of the Earth's magnetic field
http://www.frontiersinzoology.com/content/10/1/80/abstract
37 comments
have a dog and can say for sure that it is definitely nor random nor "simple preference" (and magnetic alignment falls under "simple" category)
Not the sun, which could be a confounder.
The research seems credible, and they've convincingly excluded obvious things like that they're actually aligning with the sun.
The striking thing is that they only align N-S when the declination of the magnetic field is stable, but when the declination is changing they don't align. The differences in magnetic field direction is only a few degrees, so it's amazing that a dog whose head is flopping around can detect such small changes.
The striking thing is that they only align N-S when the declination of the magnetic field is stable, but when the declination is changing they don't align. The differences in magnetic field direction is only a few degrees, so it's amazing that a dog whose head is flopping around can detect such small changes.
>they've convincingly excluded obvious things like that they're actually aligning with the sun.
I don't know - for my taste, to exclude alignment to the sun they would have had to keep the dogs in a closed environment with an artificial light source. After all, even with clouds present you know where the sun is (and you can still get sunburned etc.)
It also rings my "skeptical" alarm bells when they cite the "original" evidence that cattle aligns along the N-S axis, but they don't cite the paper that fails to replicate the "original" findings in cattle: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00359-011-0628-7
I don't know - for my taste, to exclude alignment to the sun they would have had to keep the dogs in a closed environment with an artificial light source. After all, even with clouds present you know where the sun is (and you can still get sunburned etc.)
It also rings my "skeptical" alarm bells when they cite the "original" evidence that cattle aligns along the N-S axis, but they don't cite the paper that fails to replicate the "original" findings in cattle: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00359-011-0628-7
[deleted]
Apparently Foxes are also sensitive to the magnetic field: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2SoGHFM18I
Seems so awesome! Here's an article describing the research and proposed mechanism: http://phys.org/news/2011-01-predation-foxes-aided-earth-mag...
Thanks for that! The last paragraph makes it seem like every animal except humans can sense the magnetic field. I'm slightly jealous.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoception#In_humans
It also is unlikely that humans would be an exception here. However, my money still is on "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". Animals may be capable of magnetoception, but I don't think that has been proven yet.
For example, those foxes could try and minimize their shadows or changes in their shadows. They might do that using an internal clock. Alternatively, they might be able to perceive the polarization of the sky, and use that to guess where the sun is (note the high variation in successful angles)
It also is unlikely that humans would be an exception here. However, my money still is on "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". Animals may be capable of magnetoception, but I don't think that has been proven yet.
For example, those foxes could try and minimize their shadows or changes in their shadows. They might do that using an internal clock. Alternatively, they might be able to perceive the polarization of the sky, and use that to guess where the sun is (note the high variation in successful angles)
I remember seeing a show remarking on similar sensitivity being observed in foxes when hunting mice in the snow. Apparently, the fox is much more accurate when diving when facing north.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2SoGHFM18I&feature=youtu.be&...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2SoGHFM18I&feature=youtu.be&...
They don't want the sun in their eyes?
From the paper:
Typically, the daily declination comprises westward-shifts in the morning and eastward-shifts in the afternoon, while the magnetic field is rather stable at night [21,22]. This calls for necessity to test whether the dog alignment is not actually influenced primarily by time of the day and most probably by position of the sun on the sky. We can, however, exclude this alternative. First, days when the magnetic field parameters change erratically and unpredictably (i.e., magnetic storms) are quite frequent. These changes have been well studied by others and are described in the literature (cf. [21,22] for reviews). Second, the data collection was not biased to either morning or afternoon (Table 8). Third, periods of sampling under conditions of quiet magnetic field were rather evenly distributed in the course of the day. Fourth, and most importantly, alignment during excreting was apparent under conditions of quiet magnet field, irrespective of the time of day or month. Time of day per se was not a reliable predictor of expression of alignment (Figure 2, Tables 3, 9). Fifth, generally, there are on average 1,450 sunshine hours per year at maximum in the Czech Republic and in Germany, on localities where measurements were done. Even if we would assume that these sunshine hours were evenly distributed over the daylight period and the year (as our observations were), there would only be a probability of 33 % that the observation was made when the sun was visible. Hence, with high probability (67 %) most walks during the daylight period were made when it was cloudy.
Typically, the daily declination comprises westward-shifts in the morning and eastward-shifts in the afternoon, while the magnetic field is rather stable at night [21,22]. This calls for necessity to test whether the dog alignment is not actually influenced primarily by time of the day and most probably by position of the sun on the sky. We can, however, exclude this alternative. First, days when the magnetic field parameters change erratically and unpredictably (i.e., magnetic storms) are quite frequent. These changes have been well studied by others and are described in the literature (cf. [21,22] for reviews). Second, the data collection was not biased to either morning or afternoon (Table 8). Third, periods of sampling under conditions of quiet magnetic field were rather evenly distributed in the course of the day. Fourth, and most importantly, alignment during excreting was apparent under conditions of quiet magnet field, irrespective of the time of day or month. Time of day per se was not a reliable predictor of expression of alignment (Figure 2, Tables 3, 9). Fifth, generally, there are on average 1,450 sunshine hours per year at maximum in the Czech Republic and in Germany, on localities where measurements were done. Even if we would assume that these sunshine hours were evenly distributed over the daylight period and the year (as our observations were), there would only be a probability of 33 % that the observation was made when the sun was visible. Hence, with high probability (67 %) most walks during the daylight period were made when it was cloudy.
Only when there are "calm magnetic field conditions?"
Not that I know what calm vs stable MF would be. I wonder if it correlates with something else other than sun's position?
Not that I know what calm vs stable MF would be. I wonder if it correlates with something else other than sun's position?
This, is the right question.
Could be substantiated if dogs in the southern hemisphere preferred to face south.
Well, I'm in that hemisphere. My dog prefers to do it facing away from owner if no reference points, otherwise always likes to go parallell to the nearest path/ building/ fence. I would say virtually never randomly chooses south.
I was just about to buy a hall effect sensor, but now I just need a dog! That's for saving me $20 OP.
Unless you already have a dog, I don't think that will be a net cost savings.
Something similar happens with cows and deer as well: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/08/google-earth-re/
Someone is trying to win the Ig Nobel prize.
Should be easy enough to falsify. Overpower the Earth's field with magnets and change the N-S orientation. See if they still shit along the new axis.
This might explain why the Australian Aboriginals didn't use left/right for directions[0], but instead used cardinal directions.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_direction#Cultures_no...
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_direction#Cultures_no...
[deleted]
It explains those stories that make the news now and again of dogs traveling thousands of miles home.
"Frontiers in Scatology"?
My bullshit detector is off the charts.
Why?
Why is this phenomenon limited to dogs?
Why has this never been noticed previously?
Also, why have I never observed this behavior with my dogs?
And to the comedian who replied as well: dogshit and bullshit are not the same thing.
Why has this never been noticed previously?
Also, why have I never observed this behavior with my dogs?
And to the comedian who replied as well: dogshit and bullshit are not the same thing.
I wouldn't be so quick to call BS. They state in the abstract that it's not limited to dogs:
Several mammalian species spontaneously align their body axis with respect to the Earth's magnetic field (MF) lines in diverse behavioral contexts.
You can read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoception --- though, this is not without issues:
The largest issue affecting verification of an animal magnetic sense is that despite more than 40 years of work on magnetoception there has yet to be an identification of a sensory receptor.
I remember having read about this effect in homing pigeons, and the Wikipedia article also mentions that:
These results suggest that magnetite located in the beak of pigeons may be responsible for magnetoreception via trigeminal mediation. However, it has not been shown that the magnetite located in the beak of pigeons is capable of responding to a magnetic field with the Earth’s strength. Therefore the receptor responsible for magnetosensitivity in homing pigeons has not been cemented.
Without being an expert, it seems to me to be worthwhile research.
Several mammalian species spontaneously align their body axis with respect to the Earth's magnetic field (MF) lines in diverse behavioral contexts.
You can read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetoception --- though, this is not without issues:
The largest issue affecting verification of an animal magnetic sense is that despite more than 40 years of work on magnetoception there has yet to be an identification of a sensory receptor.
I remember having read about this effect in homing pigeons, and the Wikipedia article also mentions that:
These results suggest that magnetite located in the beak of pigeons may be responsible for magnetoreception via trigeminal mediation. However, it has not been shown that the magnetite located in the beak of pigeons is capable of responding to a magnetic field with the Earth’s strength. Therefore the receptor responsible for magnetosensitivity in homing pigeons has not been cemented.
Without being an expert, it seems to me to be worthwhile research.
I don't think they're saying it is limited to dogs. It's just proven in dogs. Dogs behave really oddly when a natural disaster is about to occur, would it be that surprising that they had an unique sense that us humans don't have such as what this study is suggesting?
Maybe I can hire an augur to read my dogs poops then play the stock market with the findings?
you mean your dogshit detector?
Alignment of the body (along the thoracic spine) in direction towards the head (heading) was measured in freely moving dogs (i.e., not on the leash) in “open field” (on meadows, fields, in the wood etc., i.e., unconstrained, and uninfluenced by linear structures, such as walls and fences) away from the road traffic, high voltage power lines, and conspicuous steel constructions during defecation and urination by a hand-held compass.
So it was not as simple as directional preference in sidewalks or roads.