Waddling on the Dark Side: Ambient Light Affects Attendance Behavior of Little Penguins
Open accessAbstract
Visible light on Earth largely comes from the sun, including light reflected from the moon. Predation risk is strongly determined by light conditions, and some animals are nocturnal to reduce predation. Artificial lights and its consequent light pollution may disrupt this natural behavior. Here, we used 13 years of attendance data to study the effects of sun, moon, and artificial light on the attendance pattern of a nocturnal seabird, the little penguin Eudyptula minor at Phillip Island, Australia. The little penguin is the smallest and the only penguin species whose activity on land is strictly nocturnal. Automated monitoring systems recorded individually marked penguins every time they arrived (after sunset) at or departed (before sunrise) from 2 colonies under different lighting conditions: natural night skylight and artificial lights (around 3 lux) used to enhance penguin viewing for ecotourism around sunset. Sunlight had a strong effect on attendance as penguins arrived on average around 81 min after sunset and departed around 92 min before sunrise. The effect of moonlight was also strong, varying according to moon phase. Fewer penguins came ashore during full moon nights. Moon phase effect was stronger on departure than arrival times. Thus, during nights between full moon and last quarter, arrival times (after sunset) were delayed, even though moonlight levels were low, while departure times (before sunrise) were earlier, coinciding with high moonlight levels. Cyclic patterns of moon effect were slightly out of phase but significantly between 2 colonies, which could be due to site-specific differences or presence/absence of artificial lights. Moonlight could be overridden by artificial light at our artificially lit colony, but the similar amplitude of attendance patterns between colonies suggests that artificial light did not mask the moonlight effect. Further research is indeed necessary to understand how seabirds respond to the increasing artificial night light levels.
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Having good vision is important for little penguins.
“Also, being the smallest and only penguin species whose activity on land is strictly nocturnal, having good vision is important for this species [18,20].”
From Effect of Covering a Visitor Viewing Area Window on the Behaviour of Zoo-Housed Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
The supplied passage is an unpaginated repository listing, not a passage about penguin vision. Searches of our copy for vision, eyesight, and visual adaptation found no passage establishing that good vision is important for little penguins. (LLM, conf=0.70)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredGood vision is important for all penguin species as they are visual predators that rely on vision to find and catch prey underwater and avoid predators.
“Good vision is important for all penguin species as they are visual predators that rely on their vision to find and catch prey underwater and avoid predators [16,17,18,19,20,21].”
From Effect of Covering a Visitor Viewing Area Window on the Behaviour of Zoo-Housed Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
The only passage available from our copy is a repository listing for the paper, with no section or page number; it does not include the paper’s substantive text. Searches for vision, underwater prey capture, and predator avoidance found no relevant passage, so the claim cannot be assessed from this copy. (LLM, conf=0.70)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredLittle penguins are the smallest and only penguin species whose activity on land is strictly nocturnal.
“Also, being the smallest and only penguin species whose activity on land is strictly nocturnal, having good vision is important for this species [18,20].”
From Effect of Covering a Visitor Viewing Area Window on the Behaviour of Zoo-Housed Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) (2020) · cites this paper as [20]
The supplied passage is a file record for the paper, not a passage about penguin size or nocturnal activity. Searches for the claim’s wording and for nocturnal activity on land found no relevant passage in our indexed copy, so the attribution cannot be verified. (LLM, conf=0.68)
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Cites
Light Pollution as a Biodiversity Threat
Hölker, F., Wolter, C., Perkin, E. K., & Tockner, K. (2010) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2010.09.007 · Cited by 860 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Despite a substantial part of the world’s biodiversity being nocturnal (around 30% of vertebrates and 60% of invertebrates; Hölker et al., 2010), chronobiologists have centered their attention on the effects of solar cycles (daily and annual) on biological rhythms, while the effects of lunar cycles mediated by moonlig…”
BackgroundThe dark side of light at night: physiological, epidemiological, and ecological consequences
Navara, K. J., & Nelson, R. J. (2007) · Journal of Pineal Research · doi:10.1111/j.1600-079x.2007.00473.x · Cited by 795 · see citing works
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Chiew, S. J., Butler, K. L., Sherwen, S. L., Coleman, G. J., Melfi, V., Burns, A., & Hemsworth, P. H. (2020) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani10071224 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
- Authors
- Rodríguez, A., Chiaradia, A., Wasiak, P., Renwick, L., & Dann, P.
- Affiliations
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
- Phillip Island Nature Parks (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Rodríguez, Airam
- Venue
- Journal of Biological Rhythms
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-01-28
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 194-204
- ISSN
- 0748-7304 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-4531
- OpenAlex
- W2342018594
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 1.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Journal of Biological Rhythms (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Impact of Light on Environment and Health
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Avian ecology and behavior
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Keywords
- little penguin, Eudyptula minor, light pollution, moonlight, artificial light, nocturnal activity, departure and arrival times, lunar phases, predation risk, Phillip Island
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Breeding, Circadian Rhythm, Light, Motor Activity, Sunlight, Moon, Spheniscidae
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