TPO 49 Task1

The reading and the lecture are both about the possibility of humpback whales navigating by the stars when they migrate far distances. Whereas the author of the reading states that there is much evidence that proves the supposition, the lecturer suggests that non of the evidence is convincing. The lecturer casts doubt on the main points of the reading by providing three reasons.
First of all, according to the reading, the whales are smart and have a complex brain, so they can navigate the stars. However, the lecturer disputes this point. He believes that there is not a real connection between intelligence and navigation. There are some other animals that do navigation but are not so clever. For example, some birds, ducks, are not highly intelligent but they use stars for navigation. To explain more, this is just an instinct that they have born with. This example shows that there is not any relationship between intelligence and navigation.
Secondly, the reading states that, while the humpback whales migrate in a straight direction for long distances, and all animals can do this just if they adapt themselves with an external object, so the whales navigate stars. Nevertheless, the lecturer refutes this argument. He argues that the animals that do this use an external force that is the magnetic field of the earth. To be more specific, the bio magnetite makes them sensitive to the magnetic field of the earth.
Finally, the reading claims that humpback whales have an unusual behavior named spy-hopping. They do this to look at the stars. On the other hand, the lecturer believes that it is true that spy-hopping is rare but other animals have this behavior too. For instance, the sharks that do not migrate but show spy-hopping.