- Navigational mechanisms of migrating monarch butterflies
Trends in Neurosciences, Volume 33, Issue 9, 1 September 2010,
Pages 399-406 Steven M. Reppert, Robert J. Gegear and Christine
Merlin AbstractRecent studies of the iconic fall migration of
monarch butterflies have illuminated the mechanisms behind their
southward navigation while using a time-compensated sun compass.
Skylight cues, such as the sun itself and polarized light, are
processed through both eyes and are probably integrated in the
brain's central complex, the presumed site of the sun compass.
Time compensation is provided by circadian clocks that have a
distinctive molecular mechanism and that reside in the antennae.
Monarchs might also use a magnetic compass because they possess
two cryptochromes that have the molecular capability for light-
dependent magnetoreception. Multiple genomic approaches are now
being used with the aim of identifying navigation genes. Monarch
butterflies are thus emerging as an excellent model organism in
which to s