Sockeye Salmon Use Magnetic Field to Navigate Home
New research indicates that sockeye salmon are guided by the earth’s magnetic fields from the open ocean back to their home rivers where they spawn.
Published in the journal Current Biology, this new data presents the first direct evidence for the theory that sockeye salmon use magnetic fields to complete their arduous yearly migration.
Researchers discovered that the route that an individual salmon takes matches the strength of the geomagnetic field of its home river. “In other words,” said Nathan Putman, a researcher from Oregon State University, “salmon remember the magnetic field where they enter and come back to that same spot once they reach maturity.”
According to Putman, other animals, including sea turtles, elephant seals, eels, tuna, and sturgeon, also use geomagnetic forces to guide their travel.
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