Predator-Prey Relationship between Urban Bats and Insects Impacted by Both Artificial Light at Night and Spatial Clutter

Li, Han; Wilkins, Kenneth T.

doi:10.3390/biology11060829

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Besides, Travis Longcore and Catherine Rich reported a high mortality rate of migratory birds on the elevated and lighted building structures triggered by the lost nighttime visibility due to ALAN's induced sky glow ( 65 , 78 ). Seasonal migrating or nomadic birds rely on the natural signals of the appropriately scheduled earthly seasons.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the effects of artificial light at night in urban areas on the ecosystem level and the remedial measures

Katabaro

Yan

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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This paper attempts to realize the balance between humans and ecology in designing the nighttime light environment of urban parks by clarifying the influence of nighttime artificial light on the ecosystem of urban parks. Firstly, we reviewed the effects of nighttime artificial light on individual predation and reproduction of animals and personal growth and reproduction of plants. Secondly, we discuss the impact of individual changes caused by artificial lighting on ecosystem function at the ecosystem and analyze its advantages and disadvantages. The results showed that nighttime artificial light had a double-sided impact on the ecosystem, which would hurt the ecosystem function, but had a positive effect on the green space, which lacked natural light and had high plant density. This paper focuses on the areas with increased application of artificial lighting and rich species of animals and plants in night cities, such as urban forest parks and urban green spaces. It discusses how to reduce the intrusion of artificial lighting on ecosystems and how to make better use of the positive effect of artificial light.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the effects of artificial light at night in urban areas on the ecosystem level and the remedial measures

Katabaro

Yan

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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“…Difficulty foraging in areas with urban clutter (e.g. fences and buildings), which prevented large-sized bats from foraging under ALAN (Li and Wilkins 2022 ), could also explain this pattern for nighthawks. Our simulations showed that our model had limited power to detect a positive main effect of urban land cover when we used the fitted coefficient value (+ 0.83).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behaviour and landscape contexts determine the effects of artificial light on two crepuscular bird species

Adams,

Clair,

Knight

et al. 2024

Landsc Ecol

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Context Artificial light at night (ALAN) is increasing worldwide, with many ecological effects. Aerial insectivores may benefit from foraging on insects congregating at light sources. However, ALAN could negatively impact them by increasing nest visibility and predation risk, especially for ground-nesting species like nightjars (Caprimulgidae). Objectives We tested predictions based on these two alternative hypotheses, potential foraging benefits vs potential predation costs of ALAN, for two nightjar species in British Columbia: Common Nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) and Common Poorwills (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii). Methods We modeled the relationship between ALAN and relative abundance using count data from the Canadian Nightjar Survey. We distinguished territorial from extra-territorial Common Nighthawks based on their wingboom behaviour. Results We found limited support for the foraging benefit hypothesis: there was an increase in relative abundance of extra-territorial Common Nighthawks in areas with higher ALAN but only in areas with little to no urban land cover. Common Nighthawks’ association with ALAN became negative in areas with 18% or more urban land cover. We found support for the nest predation hypothesis: the were strong negative associations with ALAN for both Common Poorwills and territorial Common Nighthawks. Conclusions The positive effects of ALAN on foraging nightjars may be limited to species that can forage outside their nesting territory and to non-urban areas, while the negative effects of ALAN on nesting nightjars may persist across species and landscape contexts. Reducing light pollution in breeding habitat may be important for nightjars and other bird species that nest on the ground.

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“…In a study focusing on urban bats that might have somewhat adapted to ALAN in the city, scientists found that the big brown bat, eastern red bat, and silver-haired bat showed higher levels of activity at brighter sites in response to increased insect availability (Li, Wilkins, 2022). However, their activity was still limited by the spatial clutter, which affected foraging habitat suitability (Li, Wilkins, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial light at night (ALAN) pollution alters bat lunar chronobiology: Insights from broad-scale long-term acoustic monitoring

Li,

Allen,

Boris

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background The timing of behavior and habitat associations of nocturnal animals can be influenced by the lunar cycle in nature. The prevalence of artificial light at night (ALAN) has been recognized as a source of environmental pollution. The interaction between ALAN pollution and the lunar cycle on bat behavior is important for understanding anthropogenic effects on bats. We utilized a decade (2012–2022) of acoustic monitoring data collected in North Carolina, United States, to investigate the relationship between bat activity, lunar cycle, and ALAN pollution in temperate insectivorous bats. We examined whether the amount of lunar illumination affected species-specific nightly activity and whether hourly bat activity patterns varied between nights with different moon phases. We further investigated if the relationship between bat activity and the lunar cycle might be altered by ALAN pollution. Results We found that seven bat species showed activity variation across nights in relation to the amount of moon illumination when ALAN pollution was absent. Generally, bats were less active on full moon nights compared to new moon nights. ALAN pollution interacted with the bat-lunar relationship in five of the seven species, masking the effect of the lunar cycle. We identified delayed bat activity patterns on nights with a full or waxing moon in seven species, and ALAN pollution altered that pattern in four species. Overall, ALAN pollution was associated with decreased bat activity independent of lunar cycle effects. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that at a broad spatial scale, ALAN pollution negatively affected many North American temperate bat species and altered their lunar chronobiology. As the cost of illumination declines and the economic benefits of nighttime farming and other activities increase, ALAN pollution is spreading to historically dark areas and habitats. ALAN pollution might couple with other threats, such as the white-nose syndrome or climate change, to cause cascading damage in the environment that depends on ecosystem services provided by bats. We argue that further research and conservation actions are needed to mitigate the impact of ALAN pollution.

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Predator-Prey Relationship between Urban Bats and Insects Impacted by Both Artificial Light at Night and Spatial Clutter

Cited by 10 publications

References 86 publications

A review of the effects of artificial light at night in urban areas on the ecosystem level and the remedial measures

A review of the effects of artificial light at night in urban areas on the ecosystem level and the remedial measures

Behaviour and landscape contexts determine the effects of artificial light on two crepuscular bird species

Artificial light at night (ALAN) pollution alters bat lunar chronobiology: Insights from broad-scale long-term acoustic monitoring

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