Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields disrupt magnetic alignment of ruminants
- aDepartment of General Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Geography, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45117 Essen, Germany;
- bDepartment of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, 16521 Praha 6, Czech Republic;
- cInstitute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 60365 Brno, Czech Republic; and
- dDepartment of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, 12844 Praha 2, Czech Republic
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Edited by Tim Guilford, Oxford University, United Kingdom, and accepted by the Editorial Board February 10, 2009
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↵1H.B. and S.B. contributed equally to this work. (received for review November 5, 2008)
Abstract
Resting and grazing cattle and deer tend to align their body axes in the geomagnetic North-South direction. The mechanism(s) that underlie this behavior remain unknown. Here, we show that extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELFMFs) generated by high-voltage power lines disrupt alignment of the bodies of these animals with the geomagnetic field. Body orientation of cattle and roe deer was random on pastures under or near power lines. Moreover, cattle exposed to various magnetic fields directly beneath or in the vicinity of power lines trending in various magnetic directions exhibited distinct patterns of alignment. The disturbing effect of the ELFMFs on body alignment diminished with the distance from conductors. These findings constitute evidence for magnetic sensation in large mammals as well as evidence of an overt behavioral reaction to weak ELFMFs in vertebrates. The demonstrated reaction to weak ELFMFs implies effects at the cellular and molecular levels.
Footnotes
- 2To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hynek.burda{at}uni-due.de
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Author contributions: H.B., S.B., J.C., and P.N. designed research; H.B., S.B., J.C., and J.N. performed research; S.B., J.N., and P.N. analyzed data; and H.B., S.B., and P.N. wrote the paper.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. T.G. is a guest editor invited by the Editorial Board.
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This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0811194106/DCSupplemental.
