Dose-dependent responses of avian daily rhythms to artificial light at night

Jong, Maaike de; Jeninga, Lizanne; Ouyang, Jenny Q.; Oers, Kees van; Spoelstra, Kamiel; Visser, Marcel E.

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.12.012

Cited by 153 publications

(189 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Birds exposed to either green or white nocturnal light had lower DEE levels compared to the control dark group. Previous studies suggested that adult songbirds exposed to white ALAN showed higher provisioning rates during the day (Titulaer et al, 2012), as well as higher restlessness at night (Dominoni et al, 2013;de Jong et al, 2016a;Ouyang et al, in press), although energy consumption was never directly measured. Thus, we predicted DEE to be higher in the white ALAN group compared to all other treatments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, it is unlikely that differences in active day length could have explained the (observed) lower DEE levels in the green and white treatments. Songbirds are known to extend their activity into night when exposed to light pollution, both in the evening but especially in the morning (Da Silva et al, 2014;Dominoni et al, 2014;Russ et al, 2015;de Jong et al, 2016a), which suggest that ALAN might increase DEE through the lengthening of the active day. However, our results show the opposite trend, with birds in the dark treatments visiting their nest box on average earlier in the morning, and later in the evening, compared to the birds in the light treatments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Artificial Light at Night Reduces Daily Energy Expenditure in Breeding Great Tits (Parus major)

et al. 2017

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The ecological impact of artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasingly recognized process that accompanies expanding urbanization. Yet, we have limited knowledge on the impact of ALAN on wild species, and on the potential to mitigate any negative effects by using different light sources and colors. In birds, effects of ALAN on activity levels are reported for several species and, hence, their daily energy expenditure (DEE) may be affected. DEE is a potent mediator of life-history trade-offs and fitness and thus an important aspect to consider when examining the potential long-term ecological effects of ALAN. Previous work has suggested that birds exposed to ALAN show higher levels of provisioning and nocturnal activity, suggesting that white ALAN increases DEE. Other factors regulating DEE, such as provisioning behavior and food availability, might also respond to ALAN and thus indirectly affect DEE. We tested the hypothesis that ALAN increases DEE using an experimental setup where four previously unlit transects were illuminated with either white, green, or red LED light, or left dark as a control treatment. This setup was replicated in eight locations across the Netherlands. We measured DEE of our focal species, the great tit (Parus major), using a novel doubly labeled water technique that uses breath rather than blood samples. Contrary to our expectations, birds feeding their offspring under white and green ALAN showed lower DEE compared to birds in the control dark treatment. Differences in chick provisioning activity did not explain this result, as neither visit rates nor daily activity timing was affected by light treatment. However, food availability under white and green light was much higher compared to red light and the dark control. This difference strongly suggests that the lower DEE under white and green ALAN sites is a consequence of higher food availability in these treatments. This result shows that there can be positive, indirect effects of ALAN for breeding song birds which may balance against the negative direct effects shown in previous studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial Light at Night Reduces Daily Energy Expenditure in Breeding Great Tits (Parus major)

et al. 2017

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“…Initial concerns for wild species had focused on altered reproductive rhythms as a consequence of photoperiodic effects of artificial light at night, and these concerns are now robustly supported across taxa, for example, in birds, mammals, fish and plants [188][189][190][191]. Recent ecological examples include modified sleep and circadian rhythms in light-exposed, wild birds [141,192] and light-dose-dependent temporal activity patterns in captive birds [193]. These behavioural changes are astonishing because the wild animals exposed to light at night still get a clear signal from the natural photoperiod to which they can entrain, as there is a 3-4 order of magnitude difference between artificial light levels at night (typically 1-10 lx) and day time (10 000-100 000 lx).…”

Section: Outlook: Wild Clock Research Across Levels Of Biological Orgmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Helm

Visser

Schwartz

et al. 2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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146

199

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Most processes within organisms, and most interactions between organisms and their environment, have distinct time profiles. The temporal coordination of such processes is crucial across levels of biological organization, but disciplines differ widely in their approaches to study timing. Such differences are accentuated between ecologists, who are centrally concerned with a holistic view of an organism in relation to its external environment, and chronobiologists, who emphasize internal timekeeping within an organism and the mechanisms of its adjustment to the environment. We argue that ecological and chronobiological perspectives are complementary, and that studies at the intersection will enable both fields to jointly overcome obstacles that currently hinder progress. However, to achieve this integration, we first have to cross some conceptual barriers, clarifying prohibitively inaccessible terminologies. We critically assess main assumptions and concepts in either field, as well as their common interests. Both approaches intersect in their need to understand the extent and regulation of temporal plasticity, and in the concept of 'chronotype', i.e. the characteristic temporal properties of individuals which are the targets of natural and sexual selection. We then highlight promising developments, point out open questions, acknowledge difficulties and propose directions for further integration of ecological and chronobiological perspectives through Wild Clock research.

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“…In experimental studies, sleep behaviour of adult great tits and nightly activity and physiology of nestlings (fledging mass, Hp and NOx) were affected by light intensities of 1.6 (adult sleep behaviour and nestling nightly activity, refs 29 and 69) and 3.0 lux (nestling physiology 14, 15 ). However, a low light intensity of 0.3 lux was already sufficient to advance reproductive physiology and decrease melatonin levels of adult male blackbirds ( Turdus merula ) 70, 71 and even lower light intensities of 0.05 lux affect nightly activity in adult male great tits 60 . Very low levels of light exposure could thus potentially still have caused physiological effects, especially in combination with exposure to noise pollution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nestlings inside nest boxes may be exposed to only limited amounts of artificial light which might to an extent explain why we found no effect of light pollution on their physiology. Nonetheless, indirect effects might occur as adult great tits may be affected and, for example, show disrupted activity patterns 29, 60 , altered foraging behaviour 61 , increased stress levels 62 or advanced laying dates 63 . Interestingly, although noise did not affect daily timing of dawn song 64 , light pollution did appear to affect song behaviour in great tits 65–67 (but see also ref.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambient anthropogenic noise but not light is associated with the ecophysiology of free-living songbird nestlings

Raap

Pinxten

Casasole

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Urbanization is associated with dramatic increases in noise and light pollution, which affect animal behaviour, physiology and fitness. However, few studies have examined these stressors simultaneously. Moreover, effects of urbanization during early-life may be detrimental but are largely unknown. In developing great tits (Parus major), a frequently-used model species, we determined important indicators of immunity and physiological condition: plasma haptoglobin (Hp) and nitric oxide (NOx) concentration. We also determined fledging mass, an indicator for current health and survival. Associations of ambient noise and light exposure with these indicators were studied. Anthropogenic noise, light and their interaction were unrelated to fledging mass. Nestlings exposed to more noise showed higher plasma levels of Hp but not of NOx. Light was unrelated to Hp and NOx and did not interact with the effect of noise on nestlings’ physiology. Increasing levels of Hp are potentially energy demanding and trade-offs could occur with life-history traits, such as survival. Effects of light pollution on nestlings of a cavity-nesting species appear to be limited. Nonetheless, our results suggest that the urban environment, through noise exposure, may entail important physiological costs for developing organisms.

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Dose-dependent responses of avian daily rhythms to artificial light at night

Cited by 153 publications

References 42 publications

Artificial Light at Night Reduces Daily Energy Expenditure in Breeding Great Tits (Parus major)

Artificial Light at Night Reduces Daily Energy Expenditure in Breeding Great Tits (Parus major)

Two sides of a coin: ecological and chronobiological perspectives of timing in the wild

Ambient anthropogenic noise but not light is associated with the ecophysiology of free-living songbird nestlings

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