Professor of Biology, Kenneth Lohmann of North Carolina University in Chapel Hill, has recently noticed "unintended matches" in the genetic profile of regional stock populations. It could be expected that those coming from the same beach would be closer to each other. But as he found out, genetic similarity was sometimes manifested in very remote populations. So what did these turtles have in common? With the right answer, he uncovered the unusual peculiarity of turtle life.
The common feature sought was not so much the kinship of the general but the same feature of the particular beaches and islands. They had a similar magnetic field. "Generic carts are fascinating creatures that begin their lives on a single beach to pass through the Atlantic and then go back to the same place," says Lohmann. It does not always exactly hit. "And so they choose an island that has similar magnetic field properties as their native beach."
Lohmann noted that beaches with similar magnetic field properties hosts genetically related turtles. Being often overrun by a few hundreds of kilometers and settling down, for example, on the other side of the Florida outpost. "The properties of the magnetic field of the beach or island are among the cards so strong a sign of mutual affinity that they wipe out the difference in geographical distances or environmental features of the nesting beaches."
Its finding is confirmed by the research that has been made so far that the water turtles are oriented towards the beach by means of a magnetic field. And they also have a significant impact on marine turtle conservation planning. With a magnetic field that almost invariably navigates the oceans through the oceans, they can wield a number of people created underwater and coastal objects. Electricity, communication networks, reinforced concrete breakwaters and norway walls, or large buildings standing on the shore.
"It's an important insight into the life of general cards," says Lohmann. "They can also provide important recommendations for the protection of other remotely migratory species. Salmon, sharks, some species of birds. "
Video
Author: Radomír Dohnal
Source: Ekolist.cz
