The Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) as a model to understand vagrancy and its potential for the evolution of new migration routes.

Why and how new migration routes emerge remain fundamental questions in ecology, particularly in the context of current global changes. In its early stages, when few individuals are involved, the evolution of new migration routes can be easily confused with vagrancy, i.e.

Magnetoreceptory Function of European Robin Retina: Electrophysiological and Morphological Non-Homogeneity.

The avian magnetic compass allows orientation during migration and is shown to function properly under short-wavelength but not long-wavelength visible light. Therefore, the magnetoreceptive system is assumed to be light- and wavelength-dependent and localized in the retina of the eye. Putative candidates for the role of primary magnetosensory molecules are the cryptochromes that are known to be expressed in the avian retina and must be able to interact with phototransduction proteins.

Access to the sky near the horizon and stars does not play a crucial role in compass calibration of European songbird migrants.

Migratory birds use different global cues including celestial and magnetic information to determine and maintain their seasonally appropriate migratory direction. A hierarchy among different compass systems in songbird migrants is still a matter for discussion owing to highly variable and apparently contradictory results obtained in various experimental studies. How birds decide whether and how they should calibrate their compasses before departure remains unclear.

Geographical and Tick-Dependent Distribution of Flavi-Like Alongshan and Yanggou Tick Viruses in Russia.

The genus includes related, unclassified segmented flavi-like viruses, two segments of which have homology with flavivirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase NS5 and RNA helicase-protease NS3. This group includes such viruses as Jingmen tick virus, Alongshan virus, Yanggou tick virus and others. We detected the Yanggou tick virus in and ticks in two neighbouring regions of Russia.

Navigation by extrapolation of geomagnetic cues in a migratory songbird.

Displacement experiments have demonstrated that experienced migratory birds translocated thousands of kilometers away from their migratory corridor can orient toward and ultimately reach their intended destinations. This implies that they are capable of "true navigation," commonly defined as the ability to return to a known destination after displacement to an unknown location without relying on familiar surroundings, cues that emanate from the destination, or information collected during the outward journey. In birds, true navigation appears to require previous migratory experience (but see Kishkinev et al.

Electroretinographic study of the magnetic compass in European robins.

Migratory birds are known to be sensitive to external magnetic field (MF). Much indirect evidence suggests that the avian magnetic compass is localized in the retina. Previously, we showed that changes in the MF direction could modulate retinal responses in pigeons.

Phlebovirus sequences detected in ticks collected in Russia: Novel phleboviruses, distinguishing criteria and high tick specificity.

Phlebovirus is an abundant and rather heterogeneous genus within the Phenuiviridae family (order Bunyavirales). The genus Phlebovirus is divided into two antigenic complexes, which also correspond to the main vector: sandflies/mosquitoes and ticks. Previously, only sandfly/mosquito-borne phleboviruses were associated with human disease, such as Rift Valley fever virus, Toscana virus, Sicilian and Naples Sandfly fever viruses and others.

No evidence for the use of magnetic declination for migratory navigation in two songbird species.

Determining the East-West position was a classical problem in human sea navigation until accurate clocks were manufactured and sailors were able to measure the difference between local time and a fixed reference to determine longitude. Experienced night-migratory songbirds can correct for East-West physical and virtual magnetic displacements to unknown locations. Migratory birds do not appear to possess a time-different clock sense; therefore, they must solve the longitude problem in a different way.

Searching for magnetic compass mechanism in pigeon retinal photoreceptors.

Migratory birds can detect the direction of the Earth's magnetic field using the magnetic compass sense. However, the sensory basis of the magnetic compass still remains a puzzle. A large body of indirect evidence suggests that magnetic compass in birds is localized in the retina.

Magnetic compass of garden warblers is not affected by oscillating magnetic fields applied to their eyes.

The magnetic compass is an important element of the avian navigation system, which allows migratory birds to solve complex tasks of moving between distant breeding and wintering locations. The photochemical magnetoreception in the eye is believed to be the primary biophysical mechanism behind the magnetic sense of birds. It was shown previously that birds were disoriented in presence of weak oscillating magnetic fields (OMF) with frequencies in the megahertz range.

Magnetic map navigation in a migratory songbird requires trigeminal input.

Recently, virtual magnetic displacement experiments have shown that magnetic cues are indeed important for determining position in migratory birds; but which sensory system(s) do they use to detect the magnetic map cues? Here, we show that Eurasian reed warblers need trigeminal input to detect that they have been virtually magnetically displaced. Birds with bilaterally ablated ophthalmic branches of the trigeminal nerves were not able to re-orient towards their conspecific breeding grounds after a virtual magnetic displacement, exactly like they were not able to compensate for a real physical displacement. In contrast, sham-operated reed warblers re-oriented after the virtual displacement, like intact controls did in the past.

Migratory Eurasian Reed Warblers Can Use Magnetic Declination to Solve the Longitude Problem.

The longitude problem (determining east-west position) is a classical problem in human sea navigation. Prior to the use of GPS satellites, extraordinarily accurate clocks measuring the difference between local time and a fixed reference (e.g.

Very weak oscillating magnetic field disrupts the magnetic compass of songbird migrants.

Previously, it has been shown that long-distance migrants, garden warblers (), were disoriented in the presence of narrow-band oscillating magnetic field (1.403 MHz OMF, 190 nT) during autumn migration. This agrees with the data of previous experiments with European robins ().

Theoretically possible spatial accuracy of geomagnetic maps used by migrating animals.

Many migrating animals, belonging to different taxa, annually move across the globe and cover hundreds and thousands of kilometres. Many of them are able to show site fidelity, i.e.

Compass systems.

Three compass systems based on global cues known to exist in migrating birds are reviewed. Two of these systems are based on celestial cues, a time-dependent sun compass and time-independent, i.e.

Magnetic orientation of garden warblers (Sylvia borin) under 1.4 MHz radiofrequency magnetic field.

We report on the experiments on orientation of a migratory songbird, the garden warbler (Sylvia borin), during the autumn migration period on the Courish Spit, Eastern Baltics. Birds in experimental cages, deprived of visual information, showed the seasonally appropriate direction of intended flight with respect to the magnetic meridian. Weak radiofrequency (RF) magnetic field (190 nT at 1.

Contrasting patterns of genetic differentiation among Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) with divergent migratory orientations in Europe.

Migratory divides are thought to facilitate behavioral, ecological, and genetic divergence among populations with different migratory routes. However, it is currently contentious how much genetic divergence is needed to maintain distinct migratory behavior across migratory divides. Here we investigate patterns of neutral genetic differentiation among Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) populations with different migratory strategies across Europe.

Migratory Reed Warblers Need Intact Trigeminal Nerves to Correct for a 1,000 km Eastward Displacement.

Several studies have shown that experienced night-migratory songbirds can determine their position, but it has remained a mystery which cues and sensory mechanisms they use, in particular, those used to determine longitude (east-west position). One potential solution would be to use a magnetic map or signpost mechanism like the one documented in sea turtles. Night-migratory songbirds have a magnetic compass in their eyes and a second magnetic sense with unknown biological function involving the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve (V1).

Not all songbirds calibrate their magnetic compass from twilight cues: a telemetry study.

Migratory birds are able to use the sun and associated polarised light patterns, stellar cues and the geomagnetic field for orientation. No general agreement has been reached regarding the hierarchy of orientation cues. Recent data from naturally migrating North American Catharus thrushes suggests that they calibrate geomagnetic information daily from twilight cues.

A long-distance avian migrant compensates for longitudinal displacement during spring migration.

In order to perform true bicoordinate navigation, migratory birds need to be able to determine geographic latitude and longitude. The determination of latitude is relatively easy from either stellar or magnetic cues [1-3], but the determination of longitude seems challenging [4, 5]. It has therefore been suggested that migrating birds are unable to perform bicoordinate navigation and that they probably only determine latitude during their return migration [5].

Spatial behavior of medium and long-distance migrants at stopovers studied by radio tracking.

Spatial behavior and range of movements at daytime stopovers of three species of passerine nocturnal migrants (European robins, sedge warbler, and pied flycatchers) were studied by radio tracking. Both in spring and in fall, 94% of European robins remained within 350-400 m of their landing location (n = 51 and 65, respectively). Movements of robins became more area-restricted with more time spent at stopover.

Migratory orientation of first-year white storks (Ciconia ciconia): inherited information and social interactions.

We used satellite tracking to study the migratory orientation of juvenile white storks from the population in the Kaliningrad Region (Russia) during their first autumn migration. Two series of experiments were performed. In the first series of experiments, several groups of first-year storks were raised in an aviary, kept there until all free-living conspecifics had left the area and then released.