Manx shearwaters frequently fly hundreds of miles into the North Atlantic to forage for squid and fish while their mates incubate an egg. Upon their rapid, single-day return journeys home, birds experience a clash between their internal sense of time and the sun's position. Researchers evaluated two decades of GPS tracking data gathered by University of Oxford behavioral ecologist Patrick Lewin and his colleagues. The resulting navigational errors were relatively minor, producing a maximum course deviation of seven degrees that added roughly three miles to a 600-mile flight.
Key points
Disorientation happens when the birds' internal circadian clocks fall out of sync with th…: Disorientation happens when the birds' internal circadian clocks fall out of sync with the celestial position of the sun.
Manx shearwaters hunt fish and squid across the ocean while their lifelong partners stay…: Manx shearwaters hunt fish and squid across the ocean while their lifelong partners stay behind to incubate a single egg.
The research offers a rare, real-time perspective on how wild animals make navigational d…: The research offers a rare, real-time perspective on how wild animals make navigational decisions during long-distance travel.
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New research shows that humans are not the only species to get jet lag: Some birds appear to experience it too.
A study published in the journal Science found that a type of seabird known as the Manx shearwater appears to become slightly disoriented during long flights across the Atlantic Ocean. That disorientation, the authors say, is due to the bird's internal clock falling out of sync with the sun's position in the sky.
Manx shearwaters are a common bird in the British Isles. They look a little like seagulls, but "they're actually very closely related to an albatross," said Patrick Lewin, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Oxford.
Shearwaters mate for life, and when they breed, a couple lays just one egg.
Then they take turns incubating it: "One partner will sit on the egg nonstop while the other one goes out to sea," Lewin said.
For up to two weeks the hunting partners scour the North Atlantic for fish and squid, often travelling hundreds of miles from their nests.
Once these birds' bellies are full "they absolutely…
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