Pelagic seabird flight patterns are consistent with a reliance on olfactory maps for oceanic navigation

Area of Science:

• Movement ecology
• Avian navigation
• Sensory biology

Background:

• Shearwaters (Procellariiformes) exhibit remarkable homing abilities over vast oceans.
• Previous theories suggest cognitive maps of wind-borne odors, but direct testing in wild birds was challenging.
• Invasive sensory manipulation limits experimental approaches with wild populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide strong evidence for the use of olfactory cues in oceanic navigation by shearwaters.
• To test whether flight patterns are consistent with olfactory-cued navigation.
• To mechanistically connect Lévy displacements with olfactory navigation in wild birds.

Main Methods:

• Non-invasive tracking of 210 shearwaters (three species) using high-resolution GPS loggers.
• Analysis of flight patterns during incubation and chick-rearing periods.
• Statistical analysis to correlate flight displacements with olfactory-cued navigation models.

Main Results:

• 69% of shearwaters exhibited Lévy-flight-like displacements.
• These flight patterns are consistent with olfactory-cued navigation in turbulent atmosphere.
• The findings offer the strongest evidence to date for cognitive odor map navigation in wild birds.

Conclusions:

• Shearwaters rely on olfactory cues for oceanic navigation.
• Lévy-flight-like displacements are mechanistically linked to olfactory navigation.
• The non-invasive GPS tracking approach is applicable to other migratory species.