Orientation Behavior of Ring-Billed Gull Chicks 'Larus delawarensis'Exposed to Project Sanguine's Electric and Magnetic Fields.

摘要

The orientation responses of Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) chicks were tested in 2,187 orientation cage trials at the Sanguine Wisconsin Transmitter Facility during the summer of 1973. The 255 controls tested with both antennas turned off exhibited statistically significant (.05) mean headings. Results from 1,133 experimental trials conducted on the ground above the energized buried antenna suggest that the Sanguine electromagnetic field disrupts the ability of young gulls to select their preferred heading. Some inconsistencies exist in the data which cannot be explained at this time. Increasing the distance between test subjects and the energized antenna reduces the field intensity to which the birds are exposed and apparently the effects detrimental to orientation as well. Ways in which migrating birds might react to encountering the Sanguine field are discussed.