Manx shearwaters experience jet lag during long-distance flights

Manx shearwater jet lag avian navigation circadian rhythm GPS tracking

Research published in the journal Science indicates that Manx shearwaters, a species of seabird, experience a phenomenon similar to human jet lag. By analyzing 20 years of GPS tracking data from 1,045 birds, scientists from the University of Oxford discovered that rapid east-west travel causes a mismatch between the birds' internal biological clocks and local solar time.

Because these birds rely on the sun as a compass for navigation, this desynchronization leads to predictable errors. The study found that the birds can misjudge the sun's position, causing them to veer up to 15 degrees off their intended course during their return journeys from foraging grounds in the North Atlantic to their breeding colonies in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Entities

Manx shearwater · Patrick Lewin · Science · Tim Guilford · University of Oxford

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 4 SOURCES] Manx shearwaters experience a phenomenon similar to jet lag during long-distance flights. www.npr.org · www.keysnews.com · www.sciencenews.org · www.fairfieldsuntimes.com
[● 3 SOURCES] The birds use the sun as a compass for navigation. www.npr.org · www.keysnews.com · www.sciencenews.org
[○ 1 SOURCE] The disorientation can cause the birds to veer by as much as 15 degrees from their intended direction. www.sciencenews.org
[● 3 SOURCES] The study analyzed 20 years of GPS tracking data from 1,045 Manx shearwaters. www.keysnews.com · www.sciencenews.org · www.fairfieldsuntimes.com
[● 2 SOURCES] Manx shearwaters breed on islands off the western coasts of the UK and Ireland. www.keysnews.com · www.fairfieldsuntimes.com
[● 4 SOURCES] The birds' internal clocks fall out of sync with the sun's position due to rapid east-west travel. www.npr.org · www.keysnews.com · www.sciencenews.org · www.fairfieldsuntimes.com