If you were lost how would you find your way home? You could
use breadcrumbs like Hansel and Gretel or just simply retrace your steps. What
about using the Earth’s magnetic field? That happens to be how Sockeye salmon migrate
their way back to their original birthplace to breed. Sockeye salmon breed in
freshwater but live in the Pacific Ocean. After living for several years in the
Pacific, they return to the freshwater rivers, where they were born, during the
summer months.
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| (Photo : Flickr) Massive Adams River Sockeye Salmon Migration) |
A Researcher at Oregon State University Nathan Putman told BBC
News, “… salmon remember the magnetic field where they enter the ocean, and
come back to that same spot once they reach maturity.” One theory out of many
that explains how salmon return to their birthplace is called natal homing,
which BBC News explains as using chemical and geomagnetic cues to find their
way back. Not only do they use an interesting homing mechanism, but the Pacific
Salmon migration is said to be a very tough, survival of the fittest kind of
journey.
It’s interesting how we use MapQuest and Google Maps to traverse
around while marine animals essentially use their memories and the Earth’s
forces to navigate through the ocean. Maybe one day we as humans will revert
back to a more instinctual way of living.
For more information about the Pacific salmon migration and
their homing mechanisms, visit: BBC News, NY Times and Environmental Graffiti
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