Urban birds later remain as their rural colleagues who, according to research results, highlight the effects of light pollution on the animal world.
The study, based on records that were submitted by bird enthusiasts of a popular kind of identification and mapping of species, showed that light pollution singed every day for an average of 50 minutes, with a few species waking up an hour later and lying down an hour later for the evening.
“We were shocked by our results,” said Dr. Brent Pease, assistant professor for biological diversity at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
“Under the brightest night sky, a bird's day is extended by almost an hour.”
The light pollution now affects 23% of the surface of the earth and grows quickly and intensity. There are already indications of disadvantageous effects on human health and the concerns that many species are affected, with negative consequences, including dying of insects and the disorder of the migration patterns in bats and sea turtles.
In the latest study, bird records that Birdweather have been submitted were used -a Citizen Science project with which users can submit pictures of birds in their region to create a global live library from BURDSong, and with AI, with AI with the user, identify birds in their gardens.
In total, the scientists analyzed 2.6 million observations of the vocalization of the beginning (tomorrow) and 1.8 million observations of residence calls (evening) bird calls for hundreds of species. This data was combined with global satellite image measurements of light pollution.
“Birdweather relaxed behavioral research in large geographical and time scales,” said Pease.
“We could never start learning in a scale [done] Before the way birds behaved on human forces. “
The analysis showed that the watch day for birds in light areas was extended by an average of 50 minutes.
Types with large eyes, relative to their height, had the strongest reaction to artificial light.
“The American Robin, the North Brazil and the European Gold Finch have their day by more than average,” said Pease.
“Small -eyed species like sparrows didn't have such a big reaction.”
The effects of a long day on birds were not yet clear, the researchers said. “We know that loss of sleep is not great for humans, but birds are different,” said Pease.
“You have developed interesting strategies to cope with the loss of sleep during the migration period.”
A disturbance of the natural behavior patterns was worrying, added peas, although there are indications in some types that artificial lighting can increase food searches and mating time and improve the survival rate of young birds.
– Guardian