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Lunar synchronization of daily activity patterns in a crepuscular avian insectivore

Evens, Ruben ; Kowalczyk, Céline ; Norevik, Gabriel LU orcid ; Ulenaers, Eddy ; Davaasuren, Batmunkh ; Bayargur, Soddelgerekh ; Artois, Tom ; Åkesson, Susanne LU ; Hedenström, Anders LU and Liechti, Felix , et al. (2020) In Ecology and Evolution 10(14). p.7106-7116
Abstract

Biological rhythms of nearly all animals on earth are synchronized with natural light and are aligned to day-and-night transitions. Here, we test the hypothesis that the lunar cycle affects the nocturnal flight activity of European Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus). We describe daily activity patterns of individuals from three different countries across a wide geographic area, during two discrete periods in the annual cycle. Although the sample size for two of our study sites is small, the results are clear in that on average individual flight activity was strongly correlated with both local variation in day length and with the lunar cycle. We highlight the species’ sensitivity to changes in ambient light and its flexibility to respond... (More)

Biological rhythms of nearly all animals on earth are synchronized with natural light and are aligned to day-and-night transitions. Here, we test the hypothesis that the lunar cycle affects the nocturnal flight activity of European Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus). We describe daily activity patterns of individuals from three different countries across a wide geographic area, during two discrete periods in the annual cycle. Although the sample size for two of our study sites is small, the results are clear in that on average individual flight activity was strongly correlated with both local variation in day length and with the lunar cycle. We highlight the species’ sensitivity to changes in ambient light and its flexibility to respond to such changes in different parts of the world.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
animal behavior, European Nightjar, foraging ecology, lunar cycle, migration, multi-sensor logger
in
Ecology and Evolution
volume
10
issue
14
pages
11 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • pmid:32760515
  • scopus:85086230641
ISSN
2045-7758
DOI
10.1002/ece3.6412
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4e92d1e8-bd60-4528-a096-0f27e49a90ea
date added to LUP
2020-06-30 15:58:54
date last changed
2024-03-20 11:57:44
@article{4e92d1e8-bd60-4528-a096-0f27e49a90ea,
  abstract     = {{<p>Biological rhythms of nearly all animals on earth are synchronized with natural light and are aligned to day-and-night transitions. Here, we test the hypothesis that the lunar cycle affects the nocturnal flight activity of European Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus). We describe daily activity patterns of individuals from three different countries across a wide geographic area, during two discrete periods in the annual cycle. Although the sample size for two of our study sites is small, the results are clear in that on average individual flight activity was strongly correlated with both local variation in day length and with the lunar cycle. We highlight the species’ sensitivity to changes in ambient light and its flexibility to respond to such changes in different parts of the world.</p>}},
  author       = {{Evens, Ruben and Kowalczyk, Céline and Norevik, Gabriel and Ulenaers, Eddy and Davaasuren, Batmunkh and Bayargur, Soddelgerekh and Artois, Tom and Åkesson, Susanne and Hedenström, Anders and Liechti, Felix and Valcu, Mihai and Kempenaers, Bart}},
  issn         = {{2045-7758}},
  keywords     = {{animal behavior; European Nightjar; foraging ecology; lunar cycle; migration; multi-sensor logger}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{14}},
  pages        = {{7106--7116}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ecology and Evolution}},
  title        = {{Lunar synchronization of daily activity patterns in a crepuscular avian insectivore}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6412}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ece3.6412}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}