Loggerhead turtle photographed underwater. uShaka Marine World, South Africa.. (Credit: Jurie Maree on Shutterstock)

New study reveals the loggerheads’ secret navigation system

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Scientists have long wondered how sea turtles navigate vast ocean distances with remarkable precision. Now, research shows these ancient mariners can actually learn and remember magnetic “signatures” of specific geographic locations, essentially creating their own internal GPS system using Earth’s magnetic field.

Recently published findings from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill demonstrate that loggerhead sea turtles possess not just one, but two distinct mechanisms for sensing magnetic fields. This discovery helps explain how these remarkable creatures manage to traverse thousands of miles of featureless ocean to return to specific feeding grounds and nesting beaches year after year.

Working with juvenile loggerhead turtles in controlled experiments, researchers discovered the turtles could learn to associate specific magnetic field signatures with food rewards. When exposed to magnetic conditions matching those found in locations like the Gulf of Mexico or off the coast of Maine, turtles that had been fed in those specific magnetic environments would display excited “turtle dance” behavior, raising their heads, paddling frantically, and spinning in place in anticipation of food.

This learned response persisted even when tested four months later, suggesting turtles maintain a long-term memory of magnetic locations. The finding provides strong evidence that turtles can build a mental map of magnetic signatures corresponding to favorable locations they encounter during their oceanic wanderings.

But the most surprising revelation came when researchers investigated exactly how turtles detect these magnetic fields. By exposing the turtles to oscillating radio frequency fields — which are known to disrupt certain types of magnetic sensing — they found evidence for two separate magnetic detection systems working in parallel.

The turtles’ ability to recognize learned magnetic locations remained unaffected by the radio frequency fields. However, their ability to orient themselves using Earth’s magnetic field as a compass was completely disrupted. This suggests turtles have one mechanism for detecting their position (the magnetic “map” sense) and a separate system for determining direction (the magnetic “compass” sense).

This dual system makes good biological sense. Detecting precise location requires sensing subtle variations in both the strength and angle of magnetic field lines, similar to how GPS determines position using multiple satellite signals. Meanwhile, simple directional orientation only requires detecting the overall alignment of the magnetic field, much like a basic compass needle.

“Our study investigated for the first time whether a migratory animal can learn to recognize the magnetic signatures of different geographic areas,” said Kayla Goforth, first author of the study, in a statement. “Researchers have speculated for decades that animals can learn magnetic signatures, but this is the first empirical demonstration of that ability, so it fills in an important gap in our knowledge.” 

The discovery helps explain how sea turtles accomplish their remarkable navigational feats. Young turtles appear to learn the magnetic signatures of favorable locations as they drift with ocean currents during their early “lost years.” Later, they can use this mental magnetic map to recognize these locations again, while their magnetic compass helps them actively swim in the right direction to reach their targets.

This built-in navigation system likely plays a crucial role in the turtles’ ability to maintain strong fidelity to specific feeding grounds. Individual turtles often return repeatedly to the same foraging areas even after being experimentally displaced hundreds of miles away.

The findings, published in Nature, also suggest turtles can update their magnetic maps throughout their lives as they encounter new favorable areas. This flexibility would allow them to adapt to changing conditions and find new feeding grounds if their usual spots become uninhabitable due to environmental changes.

“We’ve known for 20 years that sea turtles have magnetic maps and now, by showing that they can learn new locations, we have learned how the maps might be built and modified,” said Catherine Lohmann, a biology professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. “It is amazing that sea turtles have access to a wealth of invisible information that they use to navigate in ways that are hard for us to even imagine.”

Beyond advancing our understanding of these ancient mariners, the research provides some of the first direct evidence for how animals learn to use Earth’s magnetic field for navigation, a capability that has also been suggested in other long-distance migrants like salmon and birds.