Which navigator returns home using magnetic cues and smell?

Which navigator returns home using magnetic cues and smell?

• A. Dung beetle
• B. Homing pigeons
• C. Indigo bunting
• D. Sea turtles

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how animals combine different senses to find their way home, specifically using magnetic information alongside smell. Homing pigeons have a magnetic compass that helps them determine direction from Earth’s magnetic field, and they also rely on an olfactory map built from the distinctive scents around their home area. When they’re released far away, they sense local odors carried by the wind and compare them to the memory of the odor landscape near home. This combination lets them pinpoint their location and fly home accurately. Dung beetles mainly use celestial cues like the position of the Milky Way to navigate, not magnetic sense and smell. Indigo buntings rely on magnetic cues and celestial navigation, with little emphasis on smelling their surroundings for long-distance routing. Sea turtles navigate large oceanic distances primarily with magnetic information, and while odors can play a role near coastlines, the classic long-distance homeward navigation is most closely associated with pigeons using both magnetic cues and smell.

The idea being tested is how animals combine different senses to find their way home, specifically using magnetic information alongside smell. Homing pigeons have a magnetic compass that helps them determine direction from Earth’s magnetic field, and they also rely on an olfactory map built from the distinctive scents around their home area. When they’re released far away, they sense local odors carried by the wind and compare them to the memory of the odor landscape near home. This combination lets them pinpoint their location and fly home accurately.

Dung beetles mainly use celestial cues like the position of the Milky Way to navigate, not magnetic sense and smell. Indigo buntings rely on magnetic cues and celestial navigation, with little emphasis on smelling their surroundings for long-distance routing. Sea turtles navigate large oceanic distances primarily with magnetic information, and while odors can play a role near coastlines, the classic long-distance homeward navigation is most closely associated with pigeons using both magnetic cues and smell.