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About the Cover
Cover:
Hatchling loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) possess a magnetic compass sense which helps them maintain consistent headings during their offshore migration. On pages 497-501, Irwin and Lohmann report that hatchlings in the laboratory swam in their normal migratory direction when a small, non-magnetic brass bar was attached to the carapace, while turtles carrying a small magnet of equivalent mass swam in random directions. Most previous studies involving magnetic orientation in sea turtles have relied on altering the ambient field with large, electromagnetic coil systems. The finding that small magnets attached to turtles disrupt magnetic orientation may prove useful both in studying orientation mechanisms in the natural environment and in localizing magnetoreceptors. (Photograph by William P. Irwin.)
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