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Biology

Navigation and homing in sea turtles using geomagnetic cues

Quick fact

Loggerhead sea turtles use the Earth's magnetic field as a kind of built-in GPS: they can detect both latitude and longitude from magnetic information, allowing them to navigate back to their natal beach with astonishing accuracy.

Why this is interesting

Every year, sea turtles that hatched on a particular beach return to that exact spot to lay their eggs, after swimming thousands of miles across open ocean. How do they find their way home without landmarks, roads, or a GPS?