# ECO-007 — Magnetic-compass disruption extends to 75-85 MHz in blackcaps

Why this matters
A later study in another bird species found disrupted magnetic-compass orientation at 75-85 MHz. It extends the programme to a different frequency band and functional test. Whether such exposure affects wild populations remains unanswered, and this related laboratory programme is not independent confirmation across research groups.

Id: ECO-007

Author: Leberecht et al.

Full Authors: Bo Leberecht; Dmitry Kobylkov; Thiemo Karwinkel; Sara Döge; Lars Burnus; Siu Ying Wong; Shambhavi Apte; Katrin Haase; Isabelle Musielak; Raisa Chetverikova; Glen Dautaj; Marco Bassetto; Michael Winklhofer; P. J. Hore; Henrik Mouritsen

Year: 2022

Title: Broadband 75-85 MHz radiofrequency fields disrupt magnetic compass orientation in night-migratory songbirds consistent with a flavin-based radical pair magnetoreceptor

Journal: Journal of Comparative Physiology A

Citation: Bo Leberecht; Dmitry Kobylkov; Thiemo Karwinkel; Sara Döge; Lars Burnus; Siu Ying Wong; Shambhavi Apte; Katrin Haase; Isabelle Musielak; Raisa Chetverikova; Glen Dautaj; Marco Bassetto; Michael Winklhofer; P. J. Hore; Henrik Mouritsen. Broadband 75-85 MHz radiofrequency fields disrupt magnetic compass orientation in night-migratory songbirds consistent with a flavin-based radical pair magnetoreceptor. Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 2022;208(1):97-106. doi:10.1007/s00359-021-01537-8.

Doi: 10.1007/s00359-021-01537-8

Pmid: 35019998

Topic: Environmental sensory function

Verification Group: Original text reviewed

Record Role: Original text reviewed

Featured: True

Exposure: 75-85 MHz broadband noise, 2.53 pT/√Hz reported max-hold spectral density. Three aluminium-shielded chambers; normal and 120°-rotated static magnetic fields. Magnetic/electric spectra measured daily. Spectral density is not total magnetic field.

Design: Eurasian blackcaps in two seasonal cohorts, spring 2019 and 2021; same individuals tested across four conditions, n=27-32/condition after activity exclusions. Blinded orientation assessment; control pre-screening and subsequent fresh test series.

Finding: Controls oriented and shifted with the rotated geomagnetic field. Under RF noise, headings were indistinguishable from random and significantly more dispersed than controls.

Statistics: Normal control: n=32, r=.4018, P=.005; RF: n=27, r=.1237, P=.6655. Rotated control: n=31, r=.4122, P=.0044; RF: n=29, r=.0740, P=.8552. Bootstrap directedness comparisons P=.00854 and .00902.

Boundary: Laboratory orientation is a functional endpoint, not observed migration mortality, population decline or human health risk. Radical-pair compatibility does not identify the in-vivo sensor conclusively. Same Oldenburg/Oxford research network as 2014/2016.

Related: Online 2021, issue 2022: one paper. No independent laboratory replication of this 75-85 MHz protocol established in this pass.

Protection Question: Do environmental spectra overlap conditions that disrupt this bird compass, and are there population consequences? The later frequency-band result extends a related programme rather than providing independent multispecies confirmation.

Access: Original full methods, results and disclosures reviewed in PMC XML; Scite forward graph traced the programme.

Locator: Generation and Measurement of Time-dependent Fields; Behavioural Experiments; Figures 2-3; Results.

Notice: No editorial notice surfaced in the Scite/primary-record checks used for this record; this is not a comprehensive clean-bill certification.

Funding: DFG SFB1372/GRK1885; DAAD; Lower Saxony Nano-Energieforschung stipend; ERC QuantumBirds 810002; Projekt DEAL open access.

Conflicts: Authors declare no conflict of interests.

Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-021-01537-8

Retrieval Links: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-021-01537-8 | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8918455/ | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35019998/

Verification Date: 2026-10-20