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Seabirds have the longest migrations on earth and can travel 8 million
km in a lifetime, yet how they navigate across a seemingly featureless
ocean is still one of the greatest puzzles in nature. Evidence from
mammalian and insect system shows that animals adjust their behaviour in
response to infrasound and a handful of studies have suggested pigeons
may use infrasound for navigation. The properties of the low frequency
sound waves can be used to map topology and even detect weather systems.
Combining the network of 48 international infrasound monitoring
stations, detecting signals from around the globe, with the ocean
wanderers database of over 15,000 seabird movement tracks, we have a
unique opportunity to explore the role of sound in navigation.
Furthermore novel biologging devices, which can detect sound and
pressure, will be used to simultaneously capture movement and infrasound
to examine individual movement decisions at fine scale. The
physiological mechanism allowing animals to detect low frequencies has
been identified in other taxa, and our study will examine how seabird
sensory organs may capture infrasound offering a complete assessment of
the physiology, behaviour and physics unpinning the use of infrasound in
navigation.