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

Abstract

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).

Bird Behaviour during the June 21, 2020 Solar Eclipse

“…After this time numerous scientists believes animal behaviour is changed during an eclipse (Gauthreaux, 1980;Waterman, 1989;Alcock, 1990;Drickamer and Vessey, 1991;Littman andWillcox, 1991 andGrier andBurk, 1992). Though occasionally bizarre, modern studies have lent support to the idea that at least some individuals of certain species display altered behaviour during these events (Ritson et al, 2019). 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).…”

“…Though occasionally bizarre, modern studies have lent support to the idea that at least some individuals of certain species display altered behaviour during these events (Ritson et al, 2019). 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).…”

The Effect of The Partial Solar Eclipse on Behavior of Three Species of Ardeidae In Rancabayawak Bandung

“…Various species of wildlife, including species of birds, their daily behavior in nature is influenced by local environmental factors, such as sunlight, weather, temperature, rainfall, habitat conditions and food availability in the ecosystem (Ritson et al, 2018). The species of wild birds that are active during the daylight (diurnal) are influenced by the conditions of the sun and air temperature.…”

“…The solar eclipse can affect environmental conditions on earth, such as weather, air pressure, and the solar radiation intensity (Ardi et al, 2017;Nandyanto et al, 2017), and may change the behavior of animal species (Ritson et al, 2018), including birds (Nankinov et al, 2001;Ozbey et al, 2004). Solar eclipse events are very rare.…”