Light pollution significantly affects the behavior of birds living in cities. And in a negative way. Compared to rural birds, they are on average 50 minutes longer up every day. Although it may seem like just a few minutes, in the life of a bird it is a huge amount of time that is collected during the year. The city birds face great stress and “wear” faster.
“Our results shocked us. Under the most illuminated sky, the bird’s day will be extended by almost an hour, ” said Dr. Brent Pease, associate professor of biodiversity protection at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Research was based on 2.6 million morning singing recordings and 1.8 million evening birds recordingsthat recorded the Birdweather project users. This scientific project collects bird votes from all over the world and uses artificial intelligence to identify individual species. The data was combined with satellite measurements of light pollution intensity.
“Birdweather opened the opportunity to study bird behavior on a huge geographical and time scale. We could start studying on an unprecedented scale, as birds respond to human influences, ”explains Dr. Pease.
His team found that species with relatively large eyes respond most to artificial lighting. “American reds and thighs have extended their day more than the average bird. On the contrary, species with smaller eyes, such as sparrows, showed less sensitivity,” Pease adds.
According to data, light pollution currently affects 23 % of the Earth’s surface and its intensity and extent are increasing. The impact on birds is not yet fully known. “We know that lack of sleep is not good for humans, but birds are different. They have developed interesting strategies on how to cope with the lack of sleep during migration periods,” closed Pease. The findings were published in Science.
