Artificial light pollution increases nocturnal vigilance in peahens.
Artificial light pollution is drastically changing the sensory environments of animals. Even though many animals are now living in these changed environments, the effect light pollution has on animal behavior is poorly understood. We investigated the effect of light pollution on nocturnal vigilance in peahens (Pavo cristatus). Captive peahens were exposed to either artificial lighting or natural lighting at night. We employed a novel method to record their vigilance behavior by attaching accelerometers to their heads and continuously monitoring their large head movements. We found that light pollution significantly increases nocturnal vigilance in peahens. Furthermore, the birds faced a trade-off between vigilance and sleep at night: peahens that were more vigilant spent less time sleeping. Given the choice, peahens preferred to roost away from high levels of artificial lighting but showed no preference for roosting without artificial lighting or with low levels of artificial lighting. Our study demonstrates that light pollution can have a substantial impact on animal behavior that can potentially result in fitness consequences.
Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN , United States ; Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN , United States.
Jessica L
JL
Yorzinski
Centre of Computational Statistics and Machine Learning, University College London , London , United Kingdom.
Sarah
S
Chisholm
Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN , United States.
Sydney D
SD
Byerley
Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN , United States.
Jeanee R
JR
Coy
Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN , United States.
Aisyah
A
Aziz
Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN , United States.
Jamie A
JA
Wolf
Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN , United States.
Amanda C
AC
Gnerlich
Antipredator behavior; Light pollution; Pavo cristatus; Predator–prey; Sensory ecology