Evidence for magnetic orientation in Clethrionomys glareolus in a water maze assay (Rodentia: Cricetidae)

Abstract

A long-term issue when studying magnetic orientation is the replicability of the experiments conducted in different laboratories. Attempts to replicate experiments have failed many times. After our previous study where we successfully found magnetoreception in the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) we decided to replicate the water maze experiment. The bank voles were trained and tested in a four-arm “plus” maze in different magnetic conditions – natural magnetic field and three magnetic fields with shifted position of magnetic north (+90°, +180°, and +270°). The tested bank voles showed learned directional preference in the water maze therefore we can consider this species magnetoreceptive, able to use magnetic field for orientation. However, the results were more scattered than in the study with C57BL/6J mice. This difference probably corresponds with the absence of the protection against disturbing radio frequency magnetic fields during experiment, as well as, with the behavioural differences of free-living voles and laboratory mice.