Scientists from the Institute of Ornithology of the Max Planck first observed the ability of birds to sleep during the flight. This ability of birds suspected for a long time, but only now been able to prove it. Interestingly, the new study also shows that the way to take a nap during the flight much more unusual than expected.
The discovery, according to the researchers finally help explain how birds manage to fly in a few days (or . even weeks) and did not get tired
Ornithologists did not fully understand what is happening with birds in flight: whether they are awake during the entire trip, or use only one hemisphere of the brain, while the other travelers. For example, it was found that ducks can fall asleep only one hemisphere to even dream to remain vigilant and to notice the approach of a predator. Previously, the same feature is observed in dolphins. By the way, people are doing the same when poured in the new location.
In the new study, German scientists measured the brain activity of the frigates – sea bird, which is known to be capable of weeks to fly over the ocean in search of fish. The team developed a small device that tracks EEG changes in the brain activity of birds. The device, which they called “flight recorder”, attached to the 15 adult females frigate. The device could capture slow sleep (slow wave sleep) and REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep).
The team observed the activity of the brain for ten days, during which time the birds flew about three thousand kilometers. In addition, built-in GPS sensor tracked the position and height of the bird’s flight. Once the birds have returned, ornithologists gathered “, flight recorders” for the analysis of data records, and were very surprised to the results.
During the day the birds were awake and actively looking for fish, but as soon as the sun was setting, the birds moved into stage REM sleep and thus continued to fly. However, this dream lasted only a few minutes.
The most common birds used only one hemisphere during sleep, the researchers expect to discover. But electroencephalographic indices also recorded that both hemispheres at once could fall into a phase of slow wave sleep in the same time, it suddenly assumes: a bird in a position to control the flight even when the entire brain is in a “sleep mode”.
a full-REM sleep, usually occurs during the birds circling in the rising air currents and they do not need to flap their wings.
But perhaps the biggest surprise was the fact that, despite this a unique opportunity to own frigates were satisfied in most cases, a short sleep. It lasted no more than one hour a day – an average of just 42 minutes. . It is less than 10% of the time birds spend on sleep on the ground
Scientists still do not understand why this is so: still have a lot of research. “Why do they sleep so little in flight at night, when they rarely find food – for us it is a mystery,” – said study author Niels Rattenborg (Niels Rattenborg)
According to experts, to examine this question in the future. and help people. “Before the end do not know why we, like many animals suffer from loss of sleep, while some birds can not sleep for a long time”, – says Rattenborg
The scientific article on the results of the study published in the. Sommunications journal Nature.
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