The article I read was about how birds internal compus is thrown off by the noises from electronics. This article says that the birds use the earth magnetic field to navigate while they are migrating and when electromagnetic radiation from humans gets close enough they dont know where to go any more. An experiment was made to test this where some european robins were put in one of two huts that had no differences other then one was in the city and the other was not. After this it was discovered that the birds in the city could not point in the right migratory direction whereas the birds who weren't in the city could. This is because birds can actually hear the electromagnetic radiation. However, when this noise was blocked out by electrically grounded aluminium the birds could find the right direction. This implies that a birds' navigation is controlled by a biological system that is sensitive to artificial electromagnetic noise, but this mechanism has not yet been discovered.
NOS Themes:
1. Science is based on evidence-There were many trials tested that all showed up the same giving the team solid evidence.
2. Role of motivation and curiosity- The team was curious about what would happen if they blocked all electromagnetic noises from the hut and they got changes to happen.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/noise-from-our-electronics-and-radio-signals-disorients-migratory-birds/
Wow! This is very similar to the video we watched in class yesterday. The birds use the magnetic field as a sort of map, and the small discrepancies in the field help the birds orientate themselves. It is interesting that we have found yet another way that technology will affect nature. As rural and farming communities get more technological, will this problem spread outward from cities?
ReplyDeleteAnswering Chris's comment, I found an article on how important the effect of technology on nature really is. Things such as habitat loss, physical disruption of migration, and also chemical contamination are huge factors to possible risks of environmental harm. The article also says that technology is affecting our human health and safety. There are risks of virus-spreading through touch, risk of accidents from electrically wired machines used by people everyday, and the exposure to hazardous chemicals. All of these come from the use of technology. It makes me wonder, when will people realize it needs to stop?
ReplyDeleteArticle Website: http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/publications/integrative/enta/aeet/6.asp
This is quite an interesting issue, considering how common big cities are becoming. I wonder on what magnitude this effect will affect bird populations, and if it will spread to affecting other types of migratory animals like butterflies and such. It saddens me that the advancement of our species includes us stepping on and putting down others. Hopefully we will figure out a solution to this and many of the other environmentally damaging problems we are faced with today.
ReplyDelete