How Dung Beetles Steer Straight
Dacke, Marie LU ; Baird, Emily LU ; El Jundi, Basil LU ; Warrant, Eric J. LU
and Byrne, Marcus
(2021)
In Annual Review of Entomology
66.
p.243-256
- Abstract
Distant and predictable features in the environment make ideal compass cues to allow movement along a straight path. Ball-rolling dung beetles use a wide range of different signals in the day or night sky to steer themselves along a fixed bearing. These include the sun, the Milky Way, and the polarization pattern generated by the moon. Almost two decades of research into these remarkable creatures have shown that the dung beetle's compass is flexible and readily adapts to the cues available in its current surroundings. In the morning and afternoon, dung beetles use the sun to orient, but at midday, they prefer to use the wind, and at night or in a forest, they rely primarily on polarized skylight to maintain straight paths. We are just... (More)
Distant and predictable features in the environment make ideal compass cues to allow movement along a straight path. Ball-rolling dung beetles use a wide range of different signals in the day or night sky to steer themselves along a fixed bearing. These include the sun, the Milky Way, and the polarization pattern generated by the moon. Almost two decades of research into these remarkable creatures have shown that the dung beetle's compass is flexible and readily adapts to the cues available in its current surroundings. In the morning and afternoon, dung beetles use the sun to orient, but at midday, they prefer to use the wind, and at night or in a forest, they rely primarily on polarized skylight to maintain straight paths. We are just starting to understand the neuronal substrate underlying the dung beetle's compass and the mystery of why these beetles start each journey with a dance.
(Less)
- author
- Dacke, Marie
LU
; Baird, Emily
LU
; El Jundi, Basil
LU
; Warrant, Eric J.
LU
and Byrne, Marcus
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- celestial, central complex, compass, dung beetle, navigation, orientation
- in
- Annual Review of Entomology
- volume
- 66
- pages
- 14 pages
- publisher
- Annual Reviews
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:32822556
- scopus:85099234272
- ISSN
- 0066-4170
- DOI
- 10.1146/annurev-ento-042020-102149
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 99e3e615-4340-4b57-836c-dc749c8c47d4
- date added to LUP
- 2021-01-25 09:34:20
- date last changed
- 2025-03-08 12:43:52
@article{99e3e615-4340-4b57-836c-dc749c8c47d4,
abstract = {{<p>Distant and predictable features in the environment make ideal compass cues to allow movement along a straight path. Ball-rolling dung beetles use a wide range of different signals in the day or night sky to steer themselves along a fixed bearing. These include the sun, the Milky Way, and the polarization pattern generated by the moon. Almost two decades of research into these remarkable creatures have shown that the dung beetle's compass is flexible and readily adapts to the cues available in its current surroundings. In the morning and afternoon, dung beetles use the sun to orient, but at midday, they prefer to use the wind, and at night or in a forest, they rely primarily on polarized skylight to maintain straight paths. We are just starting to understand the neuronal substrate underlying the dung beetle's compass and the mystery of why these beetles start each journey with a dance. </p>}},
author = {{Dacke, Marie and Baird, Emily and El Jundi, Basil and Warrant, Eric J. and Byrne, Marcus}},
issn = {{0066-4170}},
keywords = {{celestial; central complex; compass; dung beetle; navigation; orientation}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{243--256}},
publisher = {{Annual Reviews}},
series = {{Annual Review of Entomology}},
title = {{How Dung Beetles Steer Straight}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-042020-102149}},
doi = {{10.1146/annurev-ento-042020-102149}},
volume = {{66}},
year = {{2021}},
}