Dolphins Sense and are Attracted to Magnets

Dolphins may be able to sense magnets, according to a new study. Scientists have found that these marine creatures behave differently when swimming near magnetized objects. The findings reveal that dolphins may indeed be magnetoreceptive.

Magnetoreception is the ability to perceive a magnetic field. This ability is thought to play an important role in how some species of animals orient and navigate their environment. For example, marine species may use this ability to travel along migration routes. That's why scientists decided to see if dolphins possessed this particular sense.

The scientists placed a barrel containing a strongly magnetized block in a tank with six bottlenose dolphins and recorded their reactions. They then placed a barrel containing a demagnetized block and did the same. Aside from this characteristic, the blocks were identical in both form and density, indistinguishable even with echolocation. The dolphins swam freely and were able to interact with both of the barrels as the scientists watched their reactions.

So what did they find? It turns out that the dolphins approached the barrel much faster when it contained a magnetized block. However, the dolphins didn't interact with both types of barrels differently. This seems to indicate that they may have been more intrigued than physically drawn to the barrel with the magnetized block.

"Dolphins are able to discriminate between objects based on their magnetic properties, which is a prerequisite for magnetoreception-based navigation," said Dorothee Kremers, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Our results provide new, experimentally obtained evidence that cetaceans have a magnetic sense, and should therefore be added to the list of magnetosensitive species."

The findings reveal that dolphins, and likely other cetaceans, have this particular sense. Knowing this could help with conservation efforts and allow scientists to better understand migration routes that these animals take.

The findings are published in the journal Naturwissenschaften.