Title |
Dogs are sensitive to small variations of the Earth’s magnetic field
|
---|---|
Published in |
Frontiers in Zoology, December 2013
|
DOI | 10.1186/1742-9994-10-80 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Vlastimil Hart, Petra Nováková, Erich Pascal Malkemper, Sabine Begall, Vladimír Hanzal, Miloš Ježek, Tomáš Kušta, Veronika Němcová, Jana Adámková, Kateřina Benediktová, Jaroslav Červený, Hynek Burda |
Abstract |
Several mammalian species spontaneously align their body axis with respect to the Earth's magnetic field (MF) lines in diverse behavioral contexts. Magnetic alignment is a suitable paradigm to scan for the occurrence of magnetosensitivity across animal taxa with the heuristic potential to contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of magnetoreception and identify further functions of magnetosensation apart from navigation. With this in mind we searched for signs of magnetic alignment in dogs. We measured the direction of the body axis in 70 dogs of 37 breeds during defecation (1,893 observations) and urination (5,582 observations) over a two-year period. After complete sampling, we sorted the data according to the geomagnetic conditions prevailing during the respective sampling periods. Relative declination and intensity changes of the MF during the respective dog walks were calculated from daily magnetograms. Directional preferences of dogs under different MF conditions were analyzed and tested by means of circular statistics. |
X Demographics
As of 1 July 2024, you may notice a temporary increase in the numbers of X profiles with Unknown location. Click here to learn more.
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 352 | 14% |
Japan | 163 | 7% |
United Kingdom | 117 | 5% |
France | 58 | 2% |
Canada | 47 | 2% |
Spain | 43 | 2% |
Australia | 20 | <1% |
Germany | 19 | <1% |
Netherlands | 13 | <1% |
Other | 224 | 9% |
Unknown | 1425 | 57% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 2246 | 91% |
Scientists | 146 | 6% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 63 | 3% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 26 | 1% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 6 | 2% |
France | 4 | 1% |
United Kingdom | 4 | 1% |
Germany | 3 | <1% |
Italy | 2 | <1% |
Ireland | 1 | <1% |
Switzerland | 1 | <1% |
Hungary | 1 | <1% |
Sweden | 1 | <1% |
Other | 6 | 2% |
Unknown | 332 | 92% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 74 | 20% |
Researcher | 70 | 19% |
Student > Bachelor | 44 | 12% |
Student > Master | 35 | 10% |
Professor | 19 | 5% |
Other | 63 | 17% |
Unknown | 56 | 16% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 121 | 34% |
Physics and Astronomy | 23 | 6% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 17 | 5% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 16 | 4% |
Psychology | 15 | 4% |
Other | 102 | 28% |
Unknown | 67 | 19% |