Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields disrupt magnetic alignment of ruminants

Abstract

Resting and grazing cattle and deer tend to align their body axes in the geomagnetic North-South direction. The mechanism(s) that underlie this behavior remain unknown.

Here, we show that extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELFMFs) generated by high-voltage power lines disrupt alignment of the bodies of these animals with the geomagnetic field.

Keywords

• Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields
• magnetoreception
• cattle
• roe deer
• power lines