Date created: | Last Updated:

Category: Project

Description: Predictable, recurring environmental changes, such as the cyclic variation in nocturnal light, influence nocturnal and diurnal species leading to a wide breadth of the effects on their daily behavior. We present an analysis of the lunar-regulated behaviour of European Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus) by investigating the effect of moonlight on their nocturnal activity. We describe daily activity patterns of individuals from two extremes of the species’ breeding range, during two discrete periods of the annual cycle. Our study shows that individuals synchronize their activities both to local variation in day length and to 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. This finding raises the question whether and how light pollution (artificial lighting at night) affects the lunar-regulated behaviour of nocturnal species.