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Phillips J, Muheim R, Painter M, Raines J, Anderson C, Landler L, Dommer D, Raines A, Deutschlander M, Whitehead J, Fitzpatrick NE, Youmans P, Borland C, Sloan K, McKenna K. Why is it so difficult to study magnetic compass orientation in murine rodents? J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:197-212. [PMID: 35094127 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01532-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
A magnetic compass sense has been demonstrated in all major classes of vertebrates, as well as in many invertebrates. In mammals, controlled laboratory studies of mice have provided evidence for a robust magnetic compass that is comparable to, or exceeds, the performance of that in other animals. Nevertheless, the vast majority of laboratory studies of spatial behavior and cognition in murine rodents have failed to produce evidence of sensitivity to magnetic cues. Given the central role that a magnetic compass sense plays in the spatial ecology and cognition of non-mammalian vertebrates, and the potential utility that a global/universal reference frame derived from the magnetic field would have in mammals, the question of why responses to magnetic cues have been so difficult to demonstrate reliably is of considerable importance. In this paper, we review evidence that the magnetic compass of murine rodents shares a number of properties with light-dependent compasses in a wide variety of other animals generally believed to be mediated by a radical pair mechanism (RPM) or related quantum process. Consistent with the RPM, we summarize both published and previously unpublished findings suggesting that the murine rodent compass is sensitive to low-level radio frequency (RF) fields. Finally, we argue that the presence of anthropogenic RF fields in laboratory settings, may be an important source of variability in responses of murine rodents to magnetic cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Phillips
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0406, USA.
| | - Rachel Muheim
- Dept of Biology, Lund University, Biology Building, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Michael Painter
- Dept of Biology, Barry University, 11300 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL, 33161, USA
| | - Jenny Raines
- University of Virginia, 409 Lane Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA
| | - Chris Anderson
- Electrical Engineering Dept, US Naval Academy, 105 Maryland Ave, Annapolis, MD, 21402, USA
| | - Lukas Landler
- Institute of Zoology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33/I, 1180, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dave Dommer
- University of Mount Olive, 5001 South Miami Boulevard, Durham, NC, 27703, USA
| | - Adam Raines
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0406, USA
| | - Mark Deutschlander
- Dept of Biology, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 300 Pulteney St., Geneva, NY, 14456, USA
| | - John Whitehead
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0406, USA
| | | | - Paul Youmans
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0406, USA
| | - Chris Borland
- Civic Champs, 642 N. Madison St., Suite 116, Bloomington, IN, 47404, USA
| | - Kelly Sloan
- Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, 3333 Sanibel Captiva Rd, PO Box 839, Sanibel, FL, 33957, USA
| | - Kaitlyn McKenna
- Dept of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0406, USA
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2
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Abstract
Birds can use two kinds of information from the geomagnetic field for navigation: the direction of the field lines as a compass and probably magnetic intensity as a component of the navigational ‘map’. The direction of the magnetic field appears to be sensed via radical pair processes in the eyes, with the crucial radical pairs formed by cryptochrome. It is transmitted by the optic nerve to the brain, where parts of the visual system seem to process the respective information. Magnetic intensity appears to be perceived by magnetite-based receptors in the beak region; the information is transmitted by the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve to the trigeminal ganglion and the trigeminal brainstem nuclei. Yet in spite of considerable progress in recent years, many details are still unclear, among them details of the radical pair processes and their transformation into a nervous signal, the precise location of the magnetite-based receptors and the centres in the brain where magnetic information is combined with other navigational information for the navigational processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roswitha Wiltschko
- FB Biowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wiltschko
- FB Biowissenschaften, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Hiscock HG, Mouritsen H, Manolopoulos DE, Hore PJ. Disruption of Magnetic Compass Orientation in Migratory Birds by Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields. Biophys J 2017; 113:1475-1484. [PMID: 28978441 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.07.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Revised: 07/19/2017] [Accepted: 07/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The radical-pair mechanism has been put forward as the basis of the magnetic compass sense of migratory birds. Some of the strongest supporting evidence has come from behavioral experiments in which birds exposed to weak time-dependent magnetic fields lose their ability to orient in the geomagnetic field. However, conflicting results and skepticism about the requirement for abnormally long quantum coherence lifetimes have cast a shroud of uncertainty over these potentially pivotal studies. Using a recently developed computational approach, we explore the effects of various radiofrequency magnetic fields on biologically plausible radicals within the theoretical framework of radical-pair magnetoreception. We conclude that the current model of radical-pair magnetoreception is unable to explain the findings of the reported behavioral experiments. Assuming that an unknown mechanism amplifies the predicted effects, we suggest experimental conditions that have the potential to distinguish convincingly between the two distinct families of radical pairs currently postulated as magnetic compass sensors. We end by making recommendations for experimental protocols that we hope will increase the chance that future experiments can be independently replicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamish G Hiscock
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany; Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - David E Manolopoulos
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - P J Hore
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Kattnig DR. Radical-Pair-Based Magnetoreception Amplified by Radical Scavenging: Resilience to Spin Relaxation. J Phys Chem B 2017; 121:10215-10227. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b07672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel R. Kattnig
- Living Systems Institute
and Department of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
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The sensitivity of a radical pair compass magnetoreceptor can be significantly amplified by radical scavengers. Sci Rep 2017; 7:11640. [PMID: 28912470 PMCID: PMC5599710 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09914-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2017] [Accepted: 07/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Birds have a remarkable ability to obtain navigational information from the Earth's magnetic field. The primary detection mechanism of this compass sense is uncertain but appears to involve the quantum spin dynamics of radical pairs formed transiently in cryptochrome proteins. We propose here a new version of the current model in which spin-selective recombination of the radical pair is not essential. One of the two radicals is imagined to react with a paramagnetic scavenger via spin-selective electron transfer. By means of simulations of the spin dynamics of cryptochrome-inspired radical pairs, we show that the new scheme offers two clear and important benefits. The sensitivity to a 50 μT magnetic field is greatly enhanced and, unlike the current model, the radicals can be more than 2 nm apart in the magnetoreceptor protein. The latter means that animal cryptochromes that have a tetrad (rather than a triad) of tryptophan electron donors can still be expected to be viable as magnetic compass sensors. Lifting the restriction on the rate of the spin-selective recombination reaction also means that the detrimental effects of inter-radical exchange and dipolar interactions can be minimised by placing the radicals much further apart than in the current model.
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Quantifying Magnetic Sensitivity of Radical Pair Based Compass by Quantum Fisher Information. Sci Rep 2017; 7:5826. [PMID: 28725054 PMCID: PMC5517522 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-06187-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The radical pair (RP) based compass is considered as one of the principal models of avian magnetoreception. Different from the conventional approach where the sensitivity of RP based compass is described by the singlet yield, we introduce the quantum Fisher information (QFI), which represents the maximum information about the magnetic field's direction extracted from the RP state, to quantify the sensitivity of RP based compass. The consistency between our results and experimental observations suggests that the QFI may serve as a measure to describe the sensitivity of RP based compass. Besides, within the framework of quantum metrology, we give two specific possible measurement schemes and find that the conventional singlet yield is corresponding to the measurement of total angular momentum. Moreover, we show that the measurement of fluctuation of the total magnetic moment is much more accurate than the singlet yield measurement, and is close to the optimal measurement scheme. Finally, the effects of entanglement and decoherence are also discussed in the spirit of our approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- P. J. Hore
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom;
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, DE-26111 Oldenburg, Germany;
- Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, DE-26111 Oldenburg, Germany
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Hiscock HG, Worster S, Kattnig DR, Steers C, Jin Y, Manolopoulos DE, Mouritsen H, Hore PJ. The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:4634-9. [PMID: 27044102 PMCID: PMC4855607 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1600341113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Migratory birds have a light-dependent magnetic compass, the mechanism of which is thought to involve radical pairs formed photochemically in cryptochrome proteins in the retina. Theoretical descriptions of this compass have thus far been unable to account for the high precision with which birds are able to detect the direction of the Earth's magnetic field. Here we use coherent spin dynamics simulations to explore the behavior of realistic models of cryptochrome-based radical pairs. We show that when the spin coherence persists for longer than a few microseconds, the output of the sensor contains a sharp feature, referred to as a spike. The spike arises from avoided crossings of the quantum mechanical spin energy-levels of radicals formed in cryptochromes. Such a feature could deliver a heading precision sufficient to explain the navigational behavior of migratory birds in the wild. Our results (i) afford new insights into radical pair magnetoreception, (ii) suggest ways in which the performance of the compass could have been optimized by evolution, (iii) may provide the beginnings of an explanation for the magnetic disorientation of migratory birds exposed to anthropogenic electromagnetic noise, and (iv) suggest that radical pair magnetoreception may be more of a quantum biology phenomenon than previously realized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamish G Hiscock
- Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Susannah Worster
- Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel R Kattnig
- Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Charlotte Steers
- Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Ye Jin
- Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - David E Manolopoulos
- Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Henrik Mouritsen
- Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany; Research Centre for Neurosensory Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - P J Hore
- Department of Chemistry, Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom;
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Xu BM, Zou J. Dark state population determines magnetic sensitivity in radical pair magnetoreception model. Sci Rep 2016; 6:22417. [PMID: 26926264 PMCID: PMC4772487 DOI: 10.1038/srep22417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
What is the real role of the quantum coherence and entanglement in the radical pair (RP) compass, and what determines the singlet yield have not been fully understood. In this paper, we find that the dark states of the two-electron Zeeman energy operator (TEZE) play an important role in the RP compass. We respectively calculate the singlet yields for two initial states in this dark state basis: the coherent state and the same state just removing the dark state coherence. For the later there is neither dark state coherence nor entanglement in the whole dynamical process. Surprisingly we find that in both cases the singlet yields are the same, and based on this result, we believe that the dark state population determines the singlet yield completely, and the dark state coherence and entanglement have little contribution to it. Finally, we also find that the dark state population as well as the singlet yield anisotropy is fragile to the vertical magnetic noise. However, the orientation is robust and is even enhanced by the parallel magnetic noise because the dark states expand a decoherence-free subspace. The dark state population as well as the orientation is more robust to the hyperfine coupling noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bao-Ming Xu
- School of Physics, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China
| | - Jian Zou
- School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
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Landler L, Painter MS, Youmans PW, Hopkins WA, Phillips JB. Spontaneous magnetic alignment by yearling snapping turtles: rapid association of radio frequency dependent pattern of magnetic input with novel surroundings. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124728. [PMID: 25978736 PMCID: PMC4433231 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Accepted: 03/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated spontaneous magnetic alignment (SMA) by juvenile snapping turtles using exposure to low-level radio frequency (RF) fields at the Larmor frequency to help characterize the underlying sensory mechanism. Turtles, first introduced to the testing environment without the presence of RF aligned consistently towards magnetic north when subsequent magnetic testing conditions were also free of RF ('RF off → RF off'), but were disoriented when subsequently exposed to RF ('RF off → RF on'). In contrast, animals initially introduced to the testing environment with RF present were disoriented when tested without RF ('RF on → RF off'), but aligned towards magnetic south when tested with RF ('RF on → RF on'). Sensitivity of the SMA response of yearling turtles to RF is consistent with the involvement of a radical pair mechanism. Furthermore, the effect of RF appears to result from a change in the pattern of magnetic input, rather than elimination of magnetic input altogether, as proposed to explain similar effects in other systems/organisms. The findings show that turtles first exposed to a novel environment form a lasting association between the pattern of magnetic input and their surroundings. However, under natural conditions turtles would never experience a change in the pattern of magnetic input. Therefore, if turtles form a similar association of magnetic cues with the surroundings each time they encounter unfamiliar habitat, as seems likely, the same pattern of magnetic input would be associated with multiple sites/localities. This would be expected from a sensory input that functions as a global reference frame, helping to place multiple locales (i.e., multiple local landmark arrays) into register to form a global map of familiar space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Landler
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Michael S. Painter
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Paul W. Youmans
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - William A. Hopkins
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - John B. Phillips
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
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Poonia VS, Saha D, Ganguly S. State transitions and decoherence in the avian compass. PHYSICAL REVIEW. E, STATISTICAL, NONLINEAR, AND SOFT MATTER PHYSICS 2015; 91:052709. [PMID: 26066201 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.91.052709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The radical pair model has been successful in explaining behavioral characteristics of the geomagnetic compass believed to underlie the navigation capability of certain avian species. In this study, the spin dynamics of the radical pair model and decoherence therein are interpreted from a microscopic state transition point of view. This helps to elucidate the interplay between the hyperfine and Zeeman interactions that enables the avian compass and clarify the distinctive effects of nuclear and environmental decoherence on it. Three regimes have been identified for the strength of the hyperfine interaction with respect to that of the geomagnetic Zeeman. It is found that the compass is likely to function in the large hyperfine interaction regime. Using a quantum information theoretic quantifier of coherence, we find that nuclear decoherence induces new structure in the spin dynamics for intermediate hyperfine interaction strength. On the other hand, environmental decoherence-modeled by two different noise models-seems to disrupt the compass action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vishvendra Singh Poonia
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Dipankar Saha
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Swaroop Ganguly
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
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Malkemper EP, Eder SHK, Begall S, Phillips JB, Winklhofer M, Hart V, Burda H. Magnetoreception in the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus): influence of weak frequency-modulated radio frequency fields. Sci Rep 2015; 4:9917. [PMID: 25923312 PMCID: PMC4413948 DOI: 10.1038/srep09917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 03/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The mammalian magnetic sense is predominantly studied in species with reduced vision such as mole-rats and bats. Far less is known about surface-dwelling (epigeic) rodents with well-developed eyes. Here, we tested the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus for magnetoreception using a simple behavioural assay in which mice are allowed to build nests overnight in a visually symmetrical, circular arena. The tests were performed in the ambient magnetic field or in a field rotated by 90°. When plotted with respect to magnetic north, the nests were bimodally clustered in the northern and southern sectors, clearly indicating that the animals used magnetic cues. Additionally, mice were tested in the ambient magnetic field with a superimposed radio frequency magnetic field of the order of 100 nT. Wood mice exposed to a 0.9 to 5 MHz frequency sweep changed their preference from north-south to east-west. In contrast to birds, however, a constant frequency field tuned to the Larmor frequency (1.33 MHz) had no effect on mouse orientation. In sum, we demonstrated magnetoreception in wood mice and provide first evidence for a radical-pair mechanism in a mammal.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Pascal Malkemper
- Department of General Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45117 Essen, Germany
| | - Stephan H K Eder
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Geophysics, Munich University, 80333 Munich, Germany
| | - Sabine Begall
- Department of General Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45117 Essen, Germany
| | - John B Phillips
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Michael Winklhofer
- 1] Faculty of Physics, University of Duisburg-Essen, 47057 Duisburg, Germany [2] Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Geophysics, Munich University, 80333 Munich, Germany
| | - Vlastimil Hart
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, 16521 Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Hynek Burda
- 1] Department of General Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45117 Essen, Germany [2] Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, 16521 Praha 6, Czech Republic [3] Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 31, 370 05 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
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