A new study by scientists in Germany has shown exposure to electromagnetic radiation, so-called “electrosmog,” adversely affects migratory birds’ biological navigation systems.

 

For the first time, biologists at the University of Oldenburg have shown that robins lose their magnetic compass when exposed to AM radio waveband electromagnetic interference at levels as low far below the threshold defined by the WHO.

 

The findings, which were limited to electromagnetic interference generated by electronic devices in the frequency range up to five megahertz (i.e., not power lines or cell towers), were published in the most recent issue of the journal Nature.

 

“The effects of these weak electromagnetic fields are remarkable: they disrupt the functioning of an entire sensory system in a healthy higher vertebrate,” concluded the study. Migratory birds use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate.

 

Robins were housed in orientation cages that were, in turn, housed in earthed wooden huts covered with sheets of aluminum, which shielded the birds from electromagnetic exposure. When electromagnetic interference was introduced inside of the aluminum-clad wooden huts, the birds’ magnetic orientation ability was immediately lost.

 

Several generations of students repeated the experiments independently of one another on the Oldenburg campus over the course of seven years.

 

The research team emphasized that the findings should be cause for concern “about the potential effects for human beings, which has yet to be investigated.”