Behavior of Colonial Orb‐weaving Spiders during a Solar Eclipse

Uetz, George W.; Hieber, Craig S.; Jakob, Elizabeth M.; Wilcox, R. Stimson; Kroeger, David E.; McCrate, Andrea; Mostrom, Alison M.

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1994.tb00878.x

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…For example, changes in light, air temperature and wind speed are factors of bird behaviour (Burt, 2018). The brief changes in temperature and wind speed are possible sensed by birds and, in combination with reduced light, are interpreted as the beginning of nocturnal changes (Wheeler et al, 1935;Rabin and Doviak, 1989;Uetz et al, 1994 andAnderson, 1999) or large storm, potentially enhancing bird vocalizations as instinctive behaviour (Hartstone-Rose et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Solar eclipses offer a unique opportunity to evaluate the relative influence of unexpected darkness on behaviour of animals due to their sudden interference with local light levels and meteorology (Ritson et al, 2019 andHartstone-Rose et al, 2020). During this event, unusual behaviour of animals has been recorded such as birds ceasing to call (Hughes et al, 2014), birds returning to nocturnal roosts (Wheeler et al, 1935 andJennings et al, 1998), nocturnal insects taking flight (Wheeler et al, 1935 andGreenbank et al, 1980), diurnal fish seeking shelter and nocturnal fishes emerging (Jennings et al, 1998), spiders destroying and deconstructing their webs (Uetz et al, 1994), bats flying down a ravine (Pandey andShukla, 1982 andSanchez et al, 1999), and captive animals altering their activity (Kavanau and Rischer,1973;Mukherjhee, 1984;Branch andGust, 1986 andGil-Burmann, andBeltrami, 2003). These stereotypically nocturnal behaviours during an eclipse may mimic cues relevant to schedules of daily routines (Nilsson et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bird Behaviour during the June 21, 2020 Solar Eclipse

Mekonen

2021

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, B. Zoology

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Background: A solar eclipse is an occasional natural phenomenon that can alter the physical and biological processes of organisms. On 21 June 2020 a unique opportunity was offered to evaluate how birds change their behaviour during an eclipse. Bird behaviour was categorised using a scan-sampling technique before, during and after the solar eclipse, and at a different time of eclipse day. Results: Before the eclipse major activity categories were moving (52.45%), foraging (40.20%), and courtship (2.94%) respectively, but there were no roosting/resting observations at this time. These behaviours were much reduced during the eclipse, while roosting accounted for 14.6% of behaviour. When the eclipse began at 06:50, their calling and flying increased, and singing decreased. At maximum eclipse (07:20h), there was a profound decrease in calling, singing, foraging and moving, and courtship; while washing and floating were not observed. After the eclipse, most time was spent foraging (36.3%), followed by moving (flying), with roosting reduced to 2.4%. Conclusions: Clear and radical behavioural changes were observed when the eclipse was started and maximum. Responses of birds to the environmental factor changes associated with the solar eclipse might be the root cause of observed unusual behavioural change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird Behaviour during the June 21, 2020 Solar Eclipse

Mekonen

2021

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, B. Zoology

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“…Though occasionally bizarre, modern studies have lent support to the idea that at least some individuals of certain species display altered behavior during these events. In addition to further observations on birds [8,9], the list of investigated species includes insects [10,11,12,13,14], aquatic invertebrates [15,16,17,18,19], primates [20,21,22,23], fish [24,25], rodents [26,27], bats [28,29], and lizards [30,31], as well as larger mammals like blue bull antelope [32] and dairy cattle [33]. However, conclusions vary by study and species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Social Media Observations of Animals During a Solar Eclipse to Published Research

Ritson

Ranglack

Bickford

2019

Animals

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A wide variety of environmental stimuli can influence the behavior of animals including temperature, weather, light, lunar and seasonal cycles, seismic activity, as well as other perturbations to their circadian rhythm. Solar eclipses offer a unique opportunity to evaluate the relative influence of unexpected darkness on behavior of animals due to their sudden interference with local light levels and meteorology. Though occasionally bizarre, modern studies have lent support to the idea that at least some individuals of certain species display altered behavior during these events. A comparison of informal observations of animal behavior during solar eclipse from social media (i.e., March for Science Facebook discussion) to those conducted scientifically (published literature) can elucidate how well this topic is being covered. Describing which species and behaviors are covered in each source can reveal gaps in the literature which can emphasize areas for future research. We enumerated a total of 685 observations of approximately 48 different types of animals reacting to the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse from over 800 posts on the discussion. The animals most frequently reported on social media as reacting to the eclipse were invertebrates (40% of social media observations) and birds (35% of social media observations). A total of 26 published studies recorded 169 behavior observations of approximately 131 different animal species. The group with the highest number of observations in the literature were birds with 62 records (37% of literature observations). Most observations reported decreases in activity (38.7% of bird observations) followed by increases in vocalization (24.2% of bird observations). There were approximately 30 different species of invertebrate observed (24% of literature observations), most frequently reported of which were zooplankton (14.6% of invertebrate observations).

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“…Studies on animal behavior during solar eclipses have shown mixed responses to solar eclipses. Birds, bees, and spiders seem to behave just as in dusk conditions; returning to roosts, altering foraging behavior, or dismantling webs 5–7 . In contrast, little to no behavioral change was observed in dairy cattle during grazing and in captive chimpanzees 8,9 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic and photosynthetic responses of big sagebrush to the 2017 total solar eclipse

Beverly

Bretfeld

Speckman

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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The total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 created a path of totality ~115 km in width across the United States. While eclipse observations have shown distinct responses in animal behavior often emulating nocturnal behavior, the influence of eclipses on plant physiology are less understood. We investigated physiological perturbations due to rapid changes of sunlight and air temperature in big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana ), a desert shrub common within the path of eclipse totality. Leaf gas exchange, water potential, and chlorophyll a fluorescence were monitored during the eclipse and compared to responses obtained the day before in absence of the eclipse. On the day of the eclipse, air temperature decreased by 6.4 °C, coupled with a 1.0 kPa drop in vapor pressure deficit having a 9-minute lag following totality. Using chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements, we found photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem II ( Fv’/Fm’ ) recovered to near dark acclimated state (i.e., 87%), but the short duration of darkness did not allow for complete recovery. Gas exchange data and a simple light response model were used to estimate a 14% reduction in carbon assimilation for one day over sagebrush dominated areas within the path of totality for the Western United States.

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Behavior of Colonial Orb‐weaving Spiders during a Solar Eclipse

Cited by 23 publications

References 5 publications

Bird Behaviour during the June 21, 2020 Solar Eclipse

Bird Behaviour during the June 21, 2020 Solar Eclipse

Comparing Social Media Observations of Animals During a Solar Eclipse to Published Research

Hydraulic and photosynthetic responses of big sagebrush to the 2017 total solar eclipse

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