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Light, flight and the night : effect of ambient light and moon phase on flight activity of pteropodid bats

Murugavel, Baheerathan ; Kelber, Almut LU and Somanathan, Hema LU (2021) In Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology 207(1). p.59-68
Abstract

Fruit-feeding pteropodid bats roost under varying light conditions. Some roost in trees with high exposure to daylight (> 1000 lx), while others roost in dark caves (< 0.1 lx). To understand the effect of ambient light intensity and moon phase on flight activity, we examined flight times across five lunar cycles in three pteropodid species whose roosts differ in daylight exposure. We found significant interspecific differences in flight emergence and termination times. All species initiated flights after sunset but Rousettus leschenaultii, which typically roosts in caves, delayed emergence (40 ± 11 min) more than the two tree-roosting species Pteropus giganteus (16 ± 6 min) and Cynopterus sphinx (19 ± 7 min). R. leschenaultii... (More)

Fruit-feeding pteropodid bats roost under varying light conditions. Some roost in trees with high exposure to daylight (> 1000 lx), while others roost in dark caves (< 0.1 lx). To understand the effect of ambient light intensity and moon phase on flight activity, we examined flight times across five lunar cycles in three pteropodid species whose roosts differ in daylight exposure. We found significant interspecific differences in flight emergence and termination times. All species initiated flights after sunset but Rousettus leschenaultii, which typically roosts in caves, delayed emergence (40 ± 11 min) more than the two tree-roosting species Pteropus giganteus (16 ± 6 min) and Cynopterus sphinx (19 ± 7 min). R. leschenaultii terminated flights earlier (30 ± 7 min before sunrise) than P. giganteus (11 ± 11 min) and C. sphinx (16 ± 10 min). All individuals from P. giganteus and C. sphinx roosts emerged within less than an hour, while emergence times were more spread out in the R. leschenaultii colony. Peak emergence times differed across moon phases in the cave-roosting R. leschenaultii but not in the other species. Flight activity in R. leschenaultii is restricted to comparatively lower light levels than the tree-roosting species. The observed interspecific differences suggest that bat species, sharing same landscapes may respond differently to light pollution.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Ambient light, Flight activity, Moon phases, Pteropodids, Twilight zones
in
Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
volume
207
issue
1
pages
59 - 68
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:33537858
  • scopus:85100487290
ISSN
0340-7594
DOI
10.1007/s00359-020-01461-3
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1fa310ba-5d00-42a3-8189-d43658cefd27
date added to LUP
2021-02-18 10:40:16
date last changed
2024-09-05 15:19:07
@article{1fa310ba-5d00-42a3-8189-d43658cefd27,
  abstract     = {{<p>Fruit-feeding pteropodid bats roost under varying light conditions. Some roost in trees with high exposure to daylight (&gt; 1000 lx), while others roost in dark caves (&lt; 0.1 lx). To understand the effect of ambient light intensity and moon phase on flight activity, we examined flight times across five lunar cycles in three pteropodid species whose roosts differ in daylight exposure. We found significant interspecific differences in flight emergence and termination times. All species initiated flights after sunset but Rousettus leschenaultii, which typically roosts in caves, delayed emergence (40 ± 11 min) more than the two tree-roosting species Pteropus giganteus (16 ± 6 min) and Cynopterus sphinx (19 ± 7 min). R. leschenaultii terminated flights earlier (30 ± 7 min before sunrise) than P. giganteus (11 ± 11 min) and C. sphinx (16 ± 10 min). All individuals from P. giganteus and C. sphinx roosts emerged within less than an hour, while emergence times were more spread out in the R. leschenaultii colony. Peak emergence times differed across moon phases in the cave-roosting R. leschenaultii but not in the other species. Flight activity in R. leschenaultii is restricted to comparatively lower light levels than the tree-roosting species. The observed interspecific differences suggest that bat species, sharing same landscapes may respond differently to light pollution.</p>}},
  author       = {{Murugavel, Baheerathan and Kelber, Almut and Somanathan, Hema}},
  issn         = {{0340-7594}},
  keywords     = {{Ambient light; Flight activity; Moon phases; Pteropodids; Twilight zones}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{59--68}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology}},
  title        = {{Light, flight and the night : effect of ambient light and moon phase on flight activity of pteropodid bats}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00359-020-01461-3}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s00359-020-01461-3}},
  volume       = {{207}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}