Bats have been shown to use information from the Earth's magnetic field during orientation. However, the mechanism underlying this ability remains unknown. In this study we investigated whether bats possess a polarity- or inclination-based compass that could be used in orientation. We monitored the hanging position of adult Nyctalus plancyi in the laboratory in the presence of an induced magnetic field of twice Earth-strength. When under the influence of a normally aligned induced field the bats showed a significant preference for hanging at the northern end of their roosting basket. When the vertical component of the field was reversed, the bats remained at the northern end of the basket. However, when the horizontal component of the field was reversed, the bats changed their positions and hung at the southern end of the basket. Based on these results, we conclude that N. plancyi, unlike all other non-mammalian vertebrates tested to date, uses a polarity-based compass during orientation in the roost, and that the same compass is also likely to underlie bats' long-distance navigation abilities.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 21. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 06 December 2025.
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#1,904,143
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Outputs from Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
#3,835
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#4,051
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Outputs of similar age from Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
#10
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Altmetric has tracked 27,521,156 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 93rd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 11,872 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 41.0. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 67% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 90,905 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 95% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 69 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 85% of its contemporaries.
