Friday, April 28, 2017

Trout find their way back home due to a special gene
 Scientists from Duke University studied Trout and their migration home to their freshwater habitat where they were born without mapping or GPS. These fish use the magnetic molten lava in the earths core to migrate home. This technique is used by birds, sea turtles, and more recently honey bees. By pulling fish from tanks at Duke University, scientists were able to pinpoint the specific genes that detects the electrical current. The optic nerve was connected to the production of iron which turned out to be the linked system to the internal mapping. Magnetite is the small particles that were found inside the trout and are consistent with other theories for internal mapping. This study will continue with other tissues like the retina to further the target region of the genes that create the internal GPS system.
I believe this study will help with what can effect these animals that use the magnetic core of the Earth to return home. This could be important in new research that shows harmful effects of things that interfere with the magnetite. These animals that return home to spawn need this adaptation to continue. The work being done is important to understand so these species can continue to safely travel back to their original nesting grounds.

1 comment:

  1. The ability to navigate using magnetic molten lava in the earths core is certainly one of the more remarkable adaptations that animals have made. What makes it even more remarkable is that animals that are not directly related share this trait with each other.

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