Bats seek refuge in cluttered environment when exposed to white and red lights at night

Movement Ecology

Clémentine Azam¹  Kévin Barré¹  Christian Kerbiriou¹  Yves Bas¹  Isabelle Le Viol¹  Kamiel Spoelstra²  Ros-Kiri Ing³ 

[1] Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université;Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW);Institut Langevin, UMR 7587 CNRS, Université Paris Diderot (Paris 7);

关键词: Acoustic localization;    Artificial light;    Flight behaviour;    Chiroptera;    Microphone array;    Streetlight;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40462-020-00238-2

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Artificial light at night is recognized as an increasing threat to biodiversity. However, information on the way highly mobile taxa such as bats spatially respond to light is limited. Following the hypothesis of a behavioural adaptation to the perceived risks of predation, we hypothesised that bats should avoid lit areas by shifting their flight route to less exposed conditions. Methods Using 3D acoustic localization at four experimentally illuminated sites, we studied how the distance to streetlights emitting white and red light affected the Probability of bats Flying Inside the Forest (PFIF) versus along the forest edge. Results We show that open-, edge-, and narrow-space foraging bats strongly change flight patterns by increasing PFIF when getting closer to white and red streetlights placed in the forest edge. These behavioural changes occurred mainly on the streetlight side where light was directed. Conclusions The results show that bats cope with light exposure by actively seeking refuge in cluttered environment, potentially due to involved predation risks. This is a clear indication that bats make use of landscape structures when reacting to light, and shows the potential of vegetation and streetlight orientation in mitigating effects of light. The study nevertheless calls for preserving darkness as the most efficient way.

【 授权许可】

Unknown