Dolphins are indeed sensitive to magnetic stimuli, as they behave differently when swimming near magnetized objects. So say Dr. Dorothee Kremers and her colleagues at the Ethos unit of the Université de Rennes in France, in a study published online on September 30, 2014 in the journal Naturwissenschaften – The Science of Nature. The research, conducted in the delphinarium of Planète Sauvage in France, provides experimental behavioral proof that these marine animals are magnetoreceptive. Magnetoreception implies the ability to perceive a magnetic field. It is supposed to play an important role in how some land and aquatic species orientate and navigate themselves. Some observations of the migration routes of free-ranging cetaceans, such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises, and their stranding sites have suggested that they may also be sensitive to geomagnetic fields. Because experimental evidence in this regard has been lacking, Dr. Kremers and her colleagues set out to study the behavior of six bottlenose dolphins in the delphinarium of Planète Sauvage in Port-Saint-Père. This outdoor facility consists of four pools, covering 2,000 square meters of water surface. The scientists watched the animals’ spontaneous reaction to a barrel containing a strongly magnetized block or a demagnetized one. Except from this characteristic, the blocks were identical in form and density. The barrels were therefore indistinguishable as far as echolocation was concerned, the method by which dolphins locate objects by bouncing sound waves off them. During the experimental sessions, the animals were free to swim in and out of the pool where the barrel was installed. All six dolphins were studied simultaneously, while all group members were free to interact at any time with the barrel during a given session.
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