J. Eduardo P. W. Bicudo, William A. Buttemer, Mark A. Chappell, James T. Pearson, and Claus Bech
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199228447
- eISBN:
- 9780191711305
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199228447.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Ornithology
Birds are able to perform numerous tasks with a high degree of complexity. It is not apparent that the structures associated with the cognitive ability of the bird brain are comparable to those of ...
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Birds are able to perform numerous tasks with a high degree of complexity. It is not apparent that the structures associated with the cognitive ability of the bird brain are comparable to those of their mammalian counterparts. As with other parts of the body, the brains of distantly related species tend to be derived from the same basic elements found in the common ancestor; they exhibit homology. So although the common ancestor of birds and mammals lived approximately 300 million years ago, studies of extant reptiles have revealed that the reptilian (therapsid and sauropsid) forebrain is cortical-like in origin and therefore the common ancestor should also have shared this trait. If so, the forebrain of modern birds and mammals is expected to be cortical-like as well. This seems to be the case. This chapter focuses on the neural specializations found in birds, notably those important in foraging, long-distance navigation, and song production.Less
Birds are able to perform numerous tasks with a high degree of complexity. It is not apparent that the structures associated with the cognitive ability of the bird brain are comparable to those of their mammalian counterparts. As with other parts of the body, the brains of distantly related species tend to be derived from the same basic elements found in the common ancestor; they exhibit homology. So although the common ancestor of birds and mammals lived approximately 300 million years ago, studies of extant reptiles have revealed that the reptilian (therapsid and sauropsid) forebrain is cortical-like in origin and therefore the common ancestor should also have shared this trait. If so, the forebrain of modern birds and mammals is expected to be cortical-like as well. This seems to be the case. This chapter focuses on the neural specializations found in birds, notably those important in foraging, long-distance navigation, and song production.
J. G. M. Thewissen (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520252783
- eISBN:
- 9780520934122
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520252783.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
From crocodiles and penguins to seals and whales, this synthesis explores the function and evolution of sensory systems in animals whose ancestors lived on land. Together, the chapters explore the ...
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From crocodiles and penguins to seals and whales, this synthesis explores the function and evolution of sensory systems in animals whose ancestors lived on land. Together, the chapters explore the dramatic transformation of smell, taste, sight, hearing, balance, mechanoreception, magnetoreception, and electroreception that occurred as lineages of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals returned to aquatic environments. Each chapter integrates data from fields including sensory physiology, anatomy, paleontology, and neurobiology. A one-stop source for information on the sense organs of secondarily aquatic tetrapods, this book sheds new light on both the evolution of aquatic vertebrates and the sensory biology of their astonishing transition.Less
From crocodiles and penguins to seals and whales, this synthesis explores the function and evolution of sensory systems in animals whose ancestors lived on land. Together, the chapters explore the dramatic transformation of smell, taste, sight, hearing, balance, mechanoreception, magnetoreception, and electroreception that occurred as lineages of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals returned to aquatic environments. Each chapter integrates data from fields including sensory physiology, anatomy, paleontology, and neurobiology. A one-stop source for information on the sense organs of secondarily aquatic tetrapods, this book sheds new light on both the evolution of aquatic vertebrates and the sensory biology of their astonishing transition.
Gordon L. Fain
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- December 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198835028
- eISBN:
- 9780191872846
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198835028.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Neurobiology, Biochemistry / Molecular Biology
Sensory Transduction provides a thorough and easily accessible introduction to the mechanisms that each of the different kinds of sensory receptor cell uses to convert a sensory stimulus into an ...
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Sensory Transduction provides a thorough and easily accessible introduction to the mechanisms that each of the different kinds of sensory receptor cell uses to convert a sensory stimulus into an electrical response. Beginning with an introduction to methods of experimentation, sensory specializations, ion channels, and G-protein cascades, it provides up-to-date reviews of all of the major senses, including touch, hearing, olfaction, taste, photoreception, and the “extra” senses of thermoreception, electroreception, and magnetoreception. By bringing mechanisms of all of the senses together into a coherent treatment, it facilitates comparison of ion channels, metabotropic effector molecules, second messengers, and other components of signal pathways that are common themes in the physiology of the different sense organs. With its many clear illustrations and easily assimilated exposition, it provides an ideal introduction to current research for the professional in neuroscience, as well as a text for an advanced undergraduate or graduate-level course on sensory physiology.Less
Sensory Transduction provides a thorough and easily accessible introduction to the mechanisms that each of the different kinds of sensory receptor cell uses to convert a sensory stimulus into an electrical response. Beginning with an introduction to methods of experimentation, sensory specializations, ion channels, and G-protein cascades, it provides up-to-date reviews of all of the major senses, including touch, hearing, olfaction, taste, photoreception, and the “extra” senses of thermoreception, electroreception, and magnetoreception. By bringing mechanisms of all of the senses together into a coherent treatment, it facilitates comparison of ion channels, metabotropic effector molecules, second messengers, and other components of signal pathways that are common themes in the physiology of the different sense organs. With its many clear illustrations and easily assimilated exposition, it provides an ideal introduction to current research for the professional in neuroscience, as well as a text for an advanced undergraduate or graduate-level course on sensory physiology.
Graham R. Martin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199694532
- eISBN:
- 9780191839979
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199694532.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ornithology, Animal Biology
The natural world contains a huge amount of constantly changing information. Limitations on, and specializations within, sensory systems mean that each species receives only a small part of that ...
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The natural world contains a huge amount of constantly changing information. Limitations on, and specializations within, sensory systems mean that each species receives only a small part of that information. In essence, information is filtered by sensory systems. Sensory ecology aims to understand the nature and functions of those filters for each species and sensory system. Fluxes of information, and the perceptual challenges posed by different natural environments, are so large that sensory and behavioural specializations have been inevitable. There have been many trade-offs in the evolution of sensory capacities, and trade-offs and complementarity between different sensory capacities within species. Many behavioural tasks may have influenced the evolution of sensory capacities in birds, but the principal drivers have been associated with just two tasksforaging and predator detection. The key task is the control of the position and timing of the approach of the bill towards a target. Other tasks, such as locomotion and reproduction, are achieved within the requirements of foraging and predator detection. Information thatguides behaviours may often be sparse and partial and key behaviours may only be possible because of cognitive abilities which allow adequate interpretation of partial information. Human modifications of natural environments present perceptual challenges that cannot always be met by the information available to particular birds. Mitigations of the negative effects of human intrusions into natural environments must take account of the sensory ecology of the affected species. Effects of environmental changes cannot be understood sufficiently by viewing them through the filters of human sensory systems.Less
The natural world contains a huge amount of constantly changing information. Limitations on, and specializations within, sensory systems mean that each species receives only a small part of that information. In essence, information is filtered by sensory systems. Sensory ecology aims to understand the nature and functions of those filters for each species and sensory system. Fluxes of information, and the perceptual challenges posed by different natural environments, are so large that sensory and behavioural specializations have been inevitable. There have been many trade-offs in the evolution of sensory capacities, and trade-offs and complementarity between different sensory capacities within species. Many behavioural tasks may have influenced the evolution of sensory capacities in birds, but the principal drivers have been associated with just two tasksforaging and predator detection. The key task is the control of the position and timing of the approach of the bill towards a target. Other tasks, such as locomotion and reproduction, are achieved within the requirements of foraging and predator detection. Information thatguides behaviours may often be sparse and partial and key behaviours may only be possible because of cognitive abilities which allow adequate interpretation of partial information. Human modifications of natural environments present perceptual challenges that cannot always be met by the information available to particular birds. Mitigations of the negative effects of human intrusions into natural environments must take account of the sensory ecology of the affected species. Effects of environmental changes cannot be understood sufficiently by viewing them through the filters of human sensory systems.
Michael H. Hofmann and Lon A. Wilkens
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520252783
- eISBN:
- 9780520934122
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520252783.003.0019
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
This chapter focuses on magnetoreception in animals. It provides a brief overview of the physics of the Earth's magnetic fields, followed by a description of animals known to sense these fields. ...
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This chapter focuses on magnetoreception in animals. It provides a brief overview of the physics of the Earth's magnetic fields, followed by a description of animals known to sense these fields. Magnetic sense is present in many invertebrates such as bees, mealworm beetles, termites, lobsters, and marine mollusk. Migratory vertebrates that respond to magnetic fields include elasmobranchs, salmon, trout, eels, and tuna. Amphibians, birds, and mammals such as the blind mole rat use magnetic cues for navigation. The chapter also identifies sea turtles and cetaceans as the only secondarily aquatic tetrapods that have magnetic sense.Less
This chapter focuses on magnetoreception in animals. It provides a brief overview of the physics of the Earth's magnetic fields, followed by a description of animals known to sense these fields. Magnetic sense is present in many invertebrates such as bees, mealworm beetles, termites, lobsters, and marine mollusk. Migratory vertebrates that respond to magnetic fields include elasmobranchs, salmon, trout, eels, and tuna. Amphibians, birds, and mammals such as the blind mole rat use magnetic cues for navigation. The chapter also identifies sea turtles and cetaceans as the only secondarily aquatic tetrapods that have magnetic sense.
Rachel Muheim, Jannika Boström, Susanne Åkesson, and Miriam Liedvogel
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199677184
- eISBN:
- 9780191785696
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199677184.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology, Ecology
The question of how animals find their way during migration, which orientation cues they use, and how they can perceive the information and transfer it to a migratory direction has fascinated humans ...
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The question of how animals find their way during migration, which orientation cues they use, and how they can perceive the information and transfer it to a migratory direction has fascinated humans for a long time. During the past decade, the field of animal orientation and navigation has seen significant advances in the understanding of the molecular and physiological mechanisms of different compass systems used by animals for orientation and navigation. Most notable are the progresses made in the understanding of how animals can sense information from the Earth’s magnetic field. In this chapter, current knowledge on the sensory modalities used by animals for orientation and navigation are reviewed, challenges are outlined, and future approaches are suggested and discussed.Less
The question of how animals find their way during migration, which orientation cues they use, and how they can perceive the information and transfer it to a migratory direction has fascinated humans for a long time. During the past decade, the field of animal orientation and navigation has seen significant advances in the understanding of the molecular and physiological mechanisms of different compass systems used by animals for orientation and navigation. Most notable are the progresses made in the understanding of how animals can sense information from the Earth’s magnetic field. In this chapter, current knowledge on the sensory modalities used by animals for orientation and navigation are reviewed, challenges are outlined, and future approaches are suggested and discussed.
Graham R. Martin
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199694532
- eISBN:
- 9780191839979
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199694532.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Ornithology, Animal Biology
Touch and taste provide information about objects in contact with, and inside, the body for use in detection and manipulation of food items. Four main types of touch receptors are found distributed ...
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Touch and taste provide information about objects in contact with, and inside, the body for use in detection and manipulation of food items. Four main types of touch receptors are found distributed in most parts of the body but some birds have ‘bill tip organs’ with very high concentrations of touch receptors. Three main types of bill tip organs are found in waterfowl, parrots, shorebirds, ibises, and kiwi. They allow birds to locate hidden objects with the bill alone and parrots to use their bills as third limbs. Seven types of taste receptors exist in birds, mainly in the mouth cavity but also within the gut. Information from these receptors play key roles in food intake and aids shorebirds in detecting profitable feeding locations. Detection of the geomagnetic field, by means of two known mechanisms, is probably widespread among birds. It plays a key role in direction and position finding.Less
Touch and taste provide information about objects in contact with, and inside, the body for use in detection and manipulation of food items. Four main types of touch receptors are found distributed in most parts of the body but some birds have ‘bill tip organs’ with very high concentrations of touch receptors. Three main types of bill tip organs are found in waterfowl, parrots, shorebirds, ibises, and kiwi. They allow birds to locate hidden objects with the bill alone and parrots to use their bills as third limbs. Seven types of taste receptors exist in birds, mainly in the mouth cavity but also within the gut. Information from these receptors play key roles in food intake and aids shorebirds in detecting profitable feeding locations. Detection of the geomagnetic field, by means of two known mechanisms, is probably widespread among birds. It plays a key role in direction and position finding.
Kannan M. Krishnan
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199570447
- eISBN:
- 9780191813504
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199570447.003.0012
- Subject:
- Physics, Condensed Matter Physics / Materials
This chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to magnetic materials in medicine and biology with emphasis on nanoscale magnetic particles tailored for imaging, diagnostics, and therapy. Topics ...
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This chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to magnetic materials in medicine and biology with emphasis on nanoscale magnetic particles tailored for imaging, diagnostics, and therapy. Topics covered include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic particle imaging (MPI), high gradient magnetic separation, diagnostics using both “on-chip” detection with magnetoresistive sensors and magnetorelaxometry, magnetic fluid hyperthermia, and targeted delivery of drugs and genes (magnetofection). In addition, methods of nanoparticle synthesis, including control of their size, size distribution, shape, surface charge and functionalization, optimization of their magnetic characteristics for each specific application, combined with a discussion of their in vivo biodistribution, paticokinetics and eventual clearance, is presented. We conclude with a discussion of magnetoreception in animals; an exciting area of work in neurobiology aimed at understanding mechanisms of sensing the Earth’s weak geomagnetic field (~30μTμ0−1).Less
This chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to magnetic materials in medicine and biology with emphasis on nanoscale magnetic particles tailored for imaging, diagnostics, and therapy. Topics covered include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic particle imaging (MPI), high gradient magnetic separation, diagnostics using both “on-chip” detection with magnetoresistive sensors and magnetorelaxometry, magnetic fluid hyperthermia, and targeted delivery of drugs and genes (magnetofection). In addition, methods of nanoparticle synthesis, including control of their size, size distribution, shape, surface charge and functionalization, optimization of their magnetic characteristics for each specific application, combined with a discussion of their in vivo biodistribution, paticokinetics and eventual clearance, is presented. We conclude with a discussion of magnetoreception in animals; an exciting area of work in neurobiology aimed at understanding mechanisms of sensing the Earth’s weak geomagnetic field (~30μTμ0−1).
L. Solymar, D. Walsh, and R. R. A. Syms
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- October 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198829942
- eISBN:
- 9780191868504
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198829942.003.0011
- Subject:
- Physics, Condensed Matter Physics / Materials, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
Macroscopic and microscopic theories of magnetic polarization are discussed. The origin of domains, domain walls, and of the hysteresis curve and the contrast between soft and hard magnetic materials ...
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Macroscopic and microscopic theories of magnetic polarization are discussed. The origin of domains, domain walls, and of the hysteresis curve and the contrast between soft and hard magnetic materials are explained. The more important elements of the quantum theory of magnetism are discussed. The principles of the alignments in antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic materials are explained. Magnetic resonance phenomena are discussed. Magnetoresistance and spintronics and their device prospects are also discussed at some length.Less
Macroscopic and microscopic theories of magnetic polarization are discussed. The origin of domains, domain walls, and of the hysteresis curve and the contrast between soft and hard magnetic materials are explained. The more important elements of the quantum theory of magnetism are discussed. The principles of the alignments in antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic materials are explained. Magnetic resonance phenomena are discussed. Magnetoresistance and spintronics and their device prospects are also discussed at some length.
