Scenario Kenneth and Catherine Lohmann of the University of North Carolina

Multiple Choice

Scenario
Kenneth and Catherine Lohmann of the University of North Carolina explored the orientation or direction-finding abilities of loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings under varying magnetic conditions. Hatchlings were placed in a tank of water in a laboratory either in the natural magnetic field of the earth OR in a reversed magnetic field in which north and south were flipped. The researchers then measured the direction that the hatchlings swam. The experiments were carried out in the dark and at night since that is when most newly hatched turtles migrate from their sandy nests into the ocean.
-In the experiment, hatchlings swam in one direction when exposed to the natural magnetic field of the earth, but in a different direction when exposed to the reversed magnetic field? What conclusion can be drawn from this?

A) The orientation of turtle migration is unrelated to the magnetic field.
B) It is now proven that all turtles use an inborn magnetic compass to orient their migration.
C) Turtle hatchlings can detect magnetic fields.
D) Hatchlings orient differently according to the direction of a light source.