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Efficiency of island homing by sea turtles under multimodal navigating strategies

View ORCID ProfileK. J. Painter, A. Z. Plochocka
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/453431
K. J. Painter
aDepartment of Mathematics and Maxwell Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
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A. Z. Plochocka
aDepartment of Mathematics and Maxwell Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
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Abstract

A dot in the vastness of the Atlantic, Ascension Island remains a lifelong goal for the green sea turtles that hatched there, returning as adults every three or four years to nest. This navigating puzzle was brought to the scientific community’s attention by Charles Darwin and remains a topic of considerable speculation. Various cues have been suggested, with orientation to geomagnetic field elements and following odour plumes to their island source among the most compelling. Via a comprehensive in silico investigation we test the hypothesis that multimodal cue following, in which turtles utilise multiple guidance cues, is the most effective strategy. Specifically, we combine agent-based and continuous-level modelling to simulate displaced virtual turtles as they attempt to return to the island. Our analysis shows how population homing efficiency improves as the number of utilised cues is increased, even under “extreme” scenarios where the overall strength of navigating information decreases. Beyond the paradigm case of green turtles returning to Ascension Island, we believe this could commonly apply throughout animal navigation.

Acknowledgements.

We thank Thomas Hillen and Jonathan Sherratt for insightful comments on earlier drafts and the anonymous reviewers whose suggestions have improved the manuscript. KJP acknowledges the Politecnico di Torino for a Visiting Professorship position (2016-2017). AP was supported by MIGSAA (a centre for Doctoral Training funded by EPSRC (grant EP/L016508/01), SFC UK, Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh).

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted October 25, 2018.
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Efficiency of island homing by sea turtles under multimodal navigating strategies
K. J. Painter, A. Z. Plochocka
bioRxiv 453431; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/453431
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Efficiency of island homing by sea turtles under multimodal navigating strategies
K. J. Painter, A. Z. Plochocka
bioRxiv 453431; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/453431

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