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How does the dog sleep? And the kitten? Is the horse asleep? And the fish? Researchers have already discovered the sleeping methods of most animals, but the sleeping habits of birds have long been obscured. Max Planck Institute researcher Niels Rattenborg and their colleagues were the first to show that
BIRDS MAY SLEEP DURING THE FLIGHT.
The results of their research were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications. One of the most surprising discoveries is that one or both hemispheres are inactive during flight. Of particular interest is that their orientation skills do not deteriorate even as their brains enter REM phase, although this results in a temporary loss of muscle tone.
An incomprehensible phenomenon for the researchers was given by the fact that some species of birds, such as migratory algae, are constantly flying, but until now they have not understood how they sleep. For dolphins, a solution was already known. An aquatic mammal is active with one hemisphere of its brain while it swims (so it swims and does not sink) while the other one rests. The research team then conducted experiments with ducks perched on the ground, which showed brain function in dolphins. Since then, scientists have strongly suspected that migratory albatrosses (and other migratory, migratory birds) have developed the ability to sleep in flight.
Therefore, Rattenborg and his colleagues studied the brain activity of birds. Their goal was to determine if they were experiencing any phase of sleep, slow wave sleep (SWS) or rapid eye movement (REM).
Fly with half an eye
A miniature EEG scanner was developed for the experiment. The device was attached to the heads of the birds, making their brain activity readable, especially since the scanner also tracked the movements of the birds’ heads. Because the albatross flies high and at a great distance, the researchers first selected the frigates from the Galapagos Islands as subjects. They constantly fly over the ocean in search of prey. It was shocking that
THE BIRDS EQUIPPED WITH THE SCANNER FLY UP TO THREE THOUSAND KILOMETERS. WITHOUT A REST.
During the day, the birds’ brains remained active, but with dawn, when they switched to smooth flight rather than more activity-intensive hunting, the SWS started in their brains, albeit only for a few minutes. It was also an interesting result that sometimes only one hemisphere of the brain is in a SWS state, but other times it covered both hemispheres.
His conclusion was that birds do not need a hemispherical sleep to maintain flight ability. Although this phase occurred relatively frequently, it always occurred when the updrafts were ridden by the birds. That is, the birds slept with half an eye, literally. With the other, they could have been careful not to collide with one of their companions.
In sleeping birds, the REM phase also occurred occasionally. For the researchers, this seemed like a huge risk. During the rapid eye movement sleep phase, the human brain dreams. Wouldn’t it be a threat to life if a bird began to dream in flight? Also, your muscle tone ceases. However, this does not work in birds as it does in mammals. For them, the REM phase time is only a few seconds, during which, even if they descend a little, their flight habits do not change. EEG-observed frigates slept an average of 42 minutes per day, up to 12 hours on land. It is a miracle to survive in such conditions. In the next phase of the experiment, the researchers applied what they had experimented with migrating albatrosses and almost recoiled from the result: the albatross slept even less than the frigate.
The bird of the perpetual flying storm
The albatross family has 22 members, 20 of which are in serious danger of extinction, mainly due to human activity, including fishing. Wandering batters can have a wingspan of 330 centimeters, one of the largest. They live an average of 50 years, but one of the ringed specimens, called Wisdom, lived for more than 64 years. Wisdom was ringed in 1956; In 2016, he gave birth to his fortieth successor. Flight is interrupted solely for reproductive purposes: birds have a very long mating cycle. The chicks stay with the parents for 1 year, so some species only reproduce every 2 years. Their colonial nests are built on headlands, made of grass, moss, and mud by their parents. The nest consists of a single egg that is passed for 10-11 weeks, which is alternately kept while the other feeds (with fish, squid).
Their courtship in the animal kingdom is quite special and touching, they only have one partner for life.
Cover image: Getty Images Hungary / Picture Alliance
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