title: Anthropogenic electromagnetic noise disrupts magnetic compass orientation in a migratory bird.
abstract: Electromagnetic noise is emitted everywhere humans use electronic devices. For decades, it has been hotly debated whether man-made electric and magnetic fields affect biological processes, including human health. So far, no putative effect of anthropogenic electromagnetic noise at intensities below the guidelines adopted by the World Health Organization has withstood the test of independent replication under truly blinded experimental conditions. No effect has therefore been widely accepted as scientifically proven. Here we show that migratory birds are unable to use their magnetic compass in the presence of urban electromagnetic noise. When European robins, Erithacus rubecula, were exposed to the background electromagnetic noise present in unscreened wooden huts at the University of Oldenburg campus, they could not orient using their magnetic compass. Their magnetic orientation capabilities reappeared in electrically grounded, aluminium-screened huts, which attenuated electromagnetic noise in the frequency range from 50 kHz to 5 MHz by approximately two orders of magnitude. When the grounding was removed or when broadband electromagnetic noise was deliberately generated inside the screened and grounded huts, the birds again lost their magnetic orientation capabilities. The disruptive effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields is not confined to a narrow frequency band and birds tested far from sources of electromagnetic noise required no screening to orient with their magnetic compass. These fully double-blinded tests document a reproducible effect of anthropogenic electromagnetic noise on the behaviour of an intact vertebrate.
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [2] Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [3].
authors.forename: Svenja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Engels
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [2] Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [3].
authors.forename: Nils-Lasse
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [2] Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Nele
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lefeldt
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [2] Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine Maira
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hein
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [2] Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zapka
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [2] Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michalik
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [2] Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Elbers
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kittel
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford OX1 3QZ, UK.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hore
authors.affiliation: 1] Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany [2] Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mouritsen
mesh_terms: D000535:Aluminum; D025041:Animal Migration / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002947:Cities; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004560:Electricity / Q000009:adverse effects; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004581:Electronics / Q000295:instrumentation; D005858:Germany; D006798:Housing; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D011846:Radio Waves / Q000009:adverse effects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012621:Seasons; D020308:Songbirds / Q000502:physiology*; D014495:Universities
chemical_list: D000535:Aluminum