We hope these results will spur further research on how light pollution affects not only migrating birds, but also other highly mobile animals throughout their annual cycle.
Our results suggest that migratory birds may be subject to the effects of light pollution particularly during migration, the most critical stage in their annual cycle. Light pollution within geographic ranges was relatively greater during the migration season, for shorter-distance migrants, for species with smaller ranges, and for species in the western hemisphere. Considering the extensive and increasing encroachment of light pollution around the world, we evaluated the association of the annual mean ALAN intensity over land within the geographic ranges of 298 nocturnally migrating bird species with five factors: phase of annual cycle, mean distance between breeding and non-breeding ranges, range size, global hemisphere of range, and IUCN category of conservation concern. Many migrating birds traverse large expanses of land twice every year at night when ALAN illuminates the sky. Northeast Florida is part of the Atlantic Flyway, a predetermined path that birds migrate along the East Coast.Excessive or misdirected artificial light at night (ALAN) produces light pollution that influences several aspects of the biology and ecology of birds, including disruption of circadian rhythms and disorientation during flight. “The artificial light from the big cities tends to confuse them, they have trouble navigating through the cities, they collide with buildings, they fly around in circles, they get exhausted and just drop on the ground," Antman said.
Migrating at night comes with challenge - one of the biggest being artificial lights from cities. “They migrate in the dark to avoid predators and they use the light from the moon and stars to navigate," explained Carolyn Antman, with the Duval Audubon Society. Johns County Audubon society and the Jacksonville Zoo are launching a new program called “Lights Out Northeast Florida.” To help, the Duval Audubon society, the St. – Did you know that leaving your outside lights on at night during the fall and spring season can impact a bird’s migration journey?īillions of birds migrate south for the winter and north for the summer ever year, and 70-80% of those birds migrate at night.
0 kommentar(er)
