---
_id: '12218'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Artificial light at night significantly alters the predictability of the natural
light cycles that most animals use as an essential Zeitgeber for daily activity.
Direct light has well-documented local impacts on activity patterns of diurnal
and nocturnal organisms. However, artificial light at night also contributes to
an indirect illumination of the night sky, called skyglow, which is rapidly increasing.
The consequences of this wide-spread form of artificial night light on the behaviour
of animals remain poorly understood, with only a few studies performed under controlled
(laboratory) conditions. Using animal-borne activity loggers, we investigated
daily and seasonal flight activity of a free-living crepuscular bird species in
response to nocturnal light conditions at sites differing dramatically in exposure
to skyglow. We find that flight activity of European Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus)
during moonless periods of the night is four times higher in Belgium (high skyglow
exposure) than in sub-tropical Africa and two times higher than in Mongolia (near-pristine
skies). Moreover, clouds darken the sky under natural conditions, but skyglow
can strongly increase local sky brightness on overcast nights. As a result, we
find that nightjars' response to cloud cover is reversed between Belgium and sub-tropical
Africa and between Belgium and Mongolia. This supports the hypothesis that cloudy
nights reduce individual flight activity in a pristine environment, but increase
it when the sky is artificially lit. Our study shows that in the absence of direct
light pollution, anthropogenic changes in sky brightness relieve nightjars from
visual constraints on being active. Individuals adapt daily activities to artificial
night-sky brightness, allowing them more time to fly than conspecifics living
under natural light cycles. This modification of the nocturnal timescape likely
affects behavioural processes of most crepuscular and nocturnal species, but its
implications for population dynamics and interspecific interactions remain to
be investigated.
article_number: '165760'
author:
- first_name: Ruben
full_name: Evens, Ruben
last_name: Evens
- first_name: Michiel
full_name: Lathouwers, Michiel
last_name: Lathouwers
- first_name: Jean-Nicolas
full_name: Pradervand, Jean-Nicolas
last_name: Pradervand
- first_name: Andreas
full_name: Jechow, Andreas
last_name: Jechow
- first_name: Christopher Conrad Maximillian
full_name: Kyba, Christopher Conrad Maximillian
last_name: Kyba
- first_name: Tom
full_name: Shatwell, Tom
id: '86424'
last_name: Shatwell
orcid: 0000-0002-4520-7916
- first_name: Alain
full_name: Jacot, Alain
last_name: Jacot
- first_name: Eddy
full_name: Ulenaers, Eddy
last_name: Ulenaers
- first_name: Bart
full_name: Kempenaers, Bart
last_name: Kempenaers
- first_name: Marcel
full_name: Eens, Marcel
last_name: Eens
citation:
ama: 'Evens R, Lathouwers M, Pradervand JN, et al. Skyglow relieves a crepuscular
bird from visual constraints on being active. The science of the total environment :
an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its
relationship with man. 2023;900. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165760'
apa: 'Evens, R., Lathouwers, M., Pradervand, J.-N., Jechow, A., Kyba, C. C. M.,
Shatwell, T., Jacot, A., Ulenaers, E., Kempenaers, B., & Eens, M. (2023).
Skyglow relieves a crepuscular bird from visual constraints on being active. The
Science of the Total Environment : An International Journal for Scientific Research
into the Environment and Its Relationship with Man, 900, Article 165760.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165760'
bjps: 'Evens R et al. (2023) Skyglow Relieves a Crepuscular Bird from
Visual Constraints on Being Active. The science of the total environment :
an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its
relationship with man 900.'
chicago: 'Evens, Ruben, Michiel Lathouwers, Jean-Nicolas Pradervand, Andreas Jechow,
Christopher Conrad Maximillian Kyba, Tom Shatwell, Alain Jacot, Eddy Ulenaers,
Bart Kempenaers, and Marcel Eens. “Skyglow Relieves a Crepuscular Bird from Visual
Constraints on Being Active.” The Science of the Total Environment : An International
Journal for Scientific Research into the Environment and Its Relationship with
Man 900 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165760.'
chicago-de: 'Evens, Ruben, Michiel Lathouwers, Jean-Nicolas Pradervand, Andreas
Jechow, Christopher Conrad Maximillian Kyba, Tom Shatwell, Alain Jacot, Eddy Ulenaers,
Bart Kempenaers und Marcel Eens. 2023. Skyglow relieves a crepuscular bird from
visual constraints on being active. The science of the total environment :
an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its
relationship with man 900. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165760,
.'
din1505-2-1: 'Evens,
Ruben ; Lathouwers, Michiel
; Pradervand, Jean-Nicolas ; Jechow, Andreas ; Kyba,
Christopher Conrad Maximillian ; Shatwell,
Tom ; Jacot, Alain ; Ulenaers, Eddy ; u. a.: Skyglow
relieves a crepuscular bird from visual constraints on being active. In: The
science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research
into the environment and its relationship with man Bd. 900. Amsterdam, Elsevier
BV (2023)'
havard: 'R. Evens, M. Lathouwers, J.-N. Pradervand, A. Jechow, C.C.M. Kyba, T. Shatwell,
A. Jacot, E. Ulenaers, B. Kempenaers, M. Eens, Skyglow relieves a crepuscular
bird from visual constraints on being active, The Science of the Total Environment :
An International Journal for Scientific Research into the Environment and Its
Relationship with Man. 900 (2023).'
ieee: 'R. Evens et al., “Skyglow relieves a crepuscular bird from visual
constraints on being active,” The science of the total environment : an international
journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship with
man, vol. 900, Art. no. 165760, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165760.'
mla: 'Evens, Ruben, et al. “Skyglow Relieves a Crepuscular Bird from Visual Constraints
on Being Active.” The Science of the Total Environment : An International Journal
for Scientific Research into the Environment and Its Relationship with Man,
vol. 900, 165760, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165760.'
short: 'R. Evens, M. Lathouwers, J.-N. Pradervand, A. Jechow, C.C.M. Kyba, T. Shatwell,
A. Jacot, E. Ulenaers, B. Kempenaers, M. Eens, The Science of the Total Environment :
An International Journal for Scientific Research into the Environment and Its
Relationship with Man 900 (2023).'
ufg: 'Evens, Ruben u. a.: Skyglow relieves a crepuscular bird from visual
constraints on being active, in: The science of the total environment : an
international journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship
with man 900 (2023).'
van: 'Evens R, Lathouwers M, Pradervand JN, Jechow A, Kyba CCM, Shatwell T, et al.
Skyglow relieves a crepuscular bird from visual constraints on being active. The
science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research
into the environment and its relationship with man. 2023;900.'
date_created: 2024-12-08T19:46:22Z
date_updated: 2024-12-11T13:35:02Z
department:
- _id: DEP8022
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165760
extern: '1'
intvolume: ' 900'
keyword:
- Nightjar
- Activity-logging
- Artificial light
- Time-niche
- Anthropocene
language:
- iso: eng
place: Amsterdam
publication: 'The science of the total environment : an international journal for
scientific research into the environment and its relationship with man'
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1879-1026
issn:
- 0048-9697
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier BV
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Skyglow relieves a crepuscular bird from visual constraints on being active
type: scientific_journal_article
user_id: '83781'
volume: 900
year: '2023'
...