Student Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
1978
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Thesis Advisor
Donald Griffin
Keywords
animal orientation, skylight polarization, celestial navigation, honey bees, solar cues, behavioral experiments
Abstract
This thesis reports the results of behavioral, theoretical, and physical studies of the use of solar and skylight cues by animals for orientation. The principal features of skylight radiation which may be important for orientation are reviewed, together with previous investigations of honey bee polarization sensitivity. The dynamic properties of skylight polarization are shown to be potentially useful for animal navigation. Because the polarization patterns rotate around the celestial poles they could be used to locate the pole point where the earth's axis of rotation intersects the celestial sphere. Observation of the pole point could provide an animal with information about the latitude, cardinal directions, local apparent time, and the solar declination. The behavioral experiments reported here constitute the initial steps in evaluating the possibility that animals can use these temporal aspects for navigation.
License and Reuse Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Brines, Michael Leo, "Skylight Polarization Patterns as Cues for Honey Bee Orientation; Physical Measurements and Behavioral Experiments" (1978). Student Theses and Dissertations. 611.
https://digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu/student_theses_and_dissertations/611
Comments
A thesis presented to the faculty of The Rockefeller University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy