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Behavior

Flight simulator experiments

​To unravel the mechanisms in which the butterflies use celestial and landmark cues, we use modified Mouritson-Frost-flight simulators. At the inner surface, the flight simulators are equipped with LEDs which allow to present a variety of cues to the butterflies. The animals are tethered to a mounting rod at the center of the flight simulator. This allows them to freely set a desired compass direction with respect to a visual scene.
We also use outdoor flight arenas that allow testing the butterflies under the real sky in Würzburg (non-migrating species) or in their natural habitat in North America  (migrating species). 

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

  • The relevance of different celestial cues for the compass of monarch butterflies.
  • The use of landmark cues in monarch butterflies.
  • The integration of time-information in to the sky compass.

Participating SCIENTISTS

  • Myriam Franzke (PhD student)
  • Christian Kraus (PhD student)
  • M. Jerome Beetz (Postdoc)
  • Basil el Jundi (PI)
A monarch butterfly in a flight simulator, the green LED was turned by 180° (movie: M. Franzke).
Picture
LED flight arena (photo: M. Franzke)
Picture
Tethered monarch butterfly (photo: M. Franzke)

CONTACT

Dr. Basil el Jundi
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Institute of Biology | Department of Animal Physiology
Gløshaugen | Realfagbygget | Høgskoleringen 5
7491 Trondheim | Norway
Email: basil.el.jundi[at]ntnu.no

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