[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10829\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EStars and inner compass guide moths and birds, say researchers\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGrey-brown bogong moths may not be much to look at, but every year they perform a nocturnal journey worthy of attention. Billions of them fly as many as 1 000 kilometres from plains in eastern Australia to mountain caves to escape the summer heat.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EArriving in late September from their breeding grounds, up to 17 000 moths pack each square metre of cave wall and lie in a dormant state in a southeast mountain range known as the Australian Alps.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EExtra sense\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It usually looks like the scales of a fish if you go into these caves during the summer,\u2019 said Professor Eric Warrant, a biologist at Lund University in Sweden. \u2018It\u2019s absolutely amazing.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn autumn, the moths fly back to mate, lay eggs and die. Their progeny repeat the voyage without any experience of it \u2013 a feat that has long puzzled researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile it has been known that insects, birds, turtles and fish can navigate using the Earth\u2019s magnetic field, the specific mechanisms employed to activate this \u201csixth sense\u201d have remained mysterious. So too has the connection with other potential sensory cues.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EGreater knowledge in this area could bolster conservations efforts and help stem widespread losses in biodiversity amid warnings from scientists that the world is facing a sixth mass extinction.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2019, the bogong-moth population suffered a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2021\/dec\/18\/a-995-decline-what-caused-australias-bogong-moth-catastrophe\u0022\u003E99.5% collapse\u003C\/a\u003E as a result of drought. Although the numbers have risen since, they\u2019re still well down compared with before.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECrucial species\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe moths are crucial for plant life that they pollinate and for wildlife that depends on them for food. One such animal is the critically endangered mountain pygmy possum.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The bogong moth is a keystone species in the alpine ecosystem, so their survival is critical,\u2019 said Warrant.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHe led a project that received EU funding to uncover some of the secrets of the bogong moths\u2019 navigating abilities. Called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/741298\u0022\u003EMagneticMoth\u003C\/a\u003E, the project ended in August 2023 after six years.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWarrant\u2019s team tethered migrating bogong moths in an outdoor flight simulator. In doing so, the researchers confirmed that the moths did indeed use the Earth\u2019s magnetic field to navigate.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe next task was to find out how the moths do this and where the mechanisms responsible are located.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team investigated molecules called cryptochromes. In birds, evidence suggests that cryptochrome in the eyes may enable them to \u201csee\u201d magnetic fields.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile the project\u2019s genetic analysis has yet to yield final results, Warrant believes they will prove that cryptochromes are responsible for magnetic sensing in bogong moths.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStarry surprise\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team also made discoveries that took matters in new directions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EThe moths seem able to travel in their inherited migratory direction under a starry night sky even if we remove Earth\u2019s magnetic field.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Eric Warrant, MagneticMoth\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We found out a few other things that I think are actually even more exciting than this sensing,\u2019 said Warrant.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EOne is that bogong moths use the stars \u2013 in addition to the Earth\u2019s magnetic field \u2013 to navigate. In the laboratory, their brain cells responded to the rotation of a projected night sky.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWarrant said the ability to use night-sky cues to navigate in a specific compass direction was previously known only in humans and in some species of nocturnally migrating birds. The moths possess it while having a much smaller head.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The moths seem able to travel in their inherited migratory direction under a starry night sky even if we remove Earth\u2019s magnetic field,\u2019 Warrant said. \u2018If you have this tiny insect with a brain a tenth the volume of a grain of rice and eyes smaller than a pinhead, that they can do this is surprising.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe finding suggests bogong moths may also be using a \u201chierarchy\u201d of cues to navigate, with the ability to rely on different ones when others aren\u2019t available. Pending further research, Warrant suspects the stars may even be the dominant cue.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EQuantum ideas\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding how migratory birds use Earth\u2019s magnetic field has also been a challenge with implication for conservation efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s partly because the magnetic interactions at play have seemed too weak to trigger the required chemical reactions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBut attention is now turning to one possible explanation: atomic and subatomic \u201cquantum\u201d scales, at which behaviour of matter doesn\u2019t follow typical rules.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There\u2019s a quantum-mechanical mechanism by which such weak magnetic interactions can affect chemistry,\u2019 said Professor Peter Hore, a chemist at the University of Oxford in the UK.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHe\u2019s pursuing this avenue as co-coordinator of an EU-funded project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/810002\u0022\u003EQuantumBirds\u003C\/a\u003E. It runs for six years until the end of March 2025.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBlue light\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAs with bogong moths, the focus is on cryptochromes serving as a compass for birds to navigate during migration.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EIf we could understand the mechanisms they use to navigate, maybe we could fool them into thinking they want to stay where we\u2019ve put them.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Peter Hore, QuantumBirds\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDerived from the Greek for \u201chidden colour\u201d, cryptochromes are molecules sensitive to blue light in certain animals and thought to be involved in magnetic-field sensing in a number of species.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Migratory birds have at least six different cryptochromes in their eyes,\u2019 said Hore. \u2018We needed to work out which was most likely to have a magnetic-sensing function.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team settled on a candidate called cryptochrome 4a \u2013 Cry4a \u2013 for several reasons including changing levels of the protein in night-migratory European robins.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Cryptochrome 4a shows a seasonal variation, with higher levels in the spring and autumn,\u2019 said Hore. \u2018That would be consistent with migration.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWith Cry4a in lab cultures, the QuantumBirds team found evidence that the molecule was indeed magnetically sensitive \u2013 and more so than the same proteins in non-migratory pigeons and chickens.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile testing Cry4a in live robins would be needed to confirm this as the mechanism, the results are promising, according to Hore.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This cryptochrome seems to have the right properties to be the basis of the birds\u2019 magnetic compass,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHoming instinct\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding how migratory birds navigate could be key to future conservation, particularly given that it is difficult to relocate them because of an instinct they have to fly back to their habitat, according to Hore.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If we could understand the mechanisms they use to navigate, maybe we could fool them into thinking they want to stay where we\u2019ve put them,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor his part, Warrant at Lund University said greater knowledge about how creatures including bogong moths navigate could lead to the development of alternative navigation systems to GPS for people to use.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EUnderstanding the homing instincts of moths \u2013 coupled with the pivotal role that they play in the ecosystem \u2013 is yet another reason to ensure their protection.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Raising awareness that even a humble insect is worth saving is an important step in the right direction,\u2019 Warrant said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU via the European Research Council (ERC). 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