This little post was inspired by reading a small piece in the paper, pretty sure it was the Daily Mail, with the headline "Why robins are losing their chirp". The story was about work done by Davide Dominoni, Glasgow University, on the effects of artificial light on birds. This research, along with other work, suggests that light in our urban environments is having a noticeable impact on the behaviour and biology of birds. The birds tend sing for more hours of the day, which will have knock on effects on the other behaviours they do, how much time they spend foraging, and so what condition they're in - all of which effect how well they can breed. Work on variation in natural light, from the different phases of the moon, by Jenny York, has shown a "natural" basis for these behavioural changes.
Work by Bart Kempenaers et al. at the Max Planck Institute in Germany has shown that street lights have a big effect on breeding behaviour. Looking at four bird species, egg laying date was earlier in areas with street lights and males who had territories with street lights were more successful in gaining extra-pair mates than their lamp-less neighbours.
Human induced changes have wide-ranging impacts on wildlife, not just through habitat destruction, but through creating habitats that are colonized by animal and plant species. I've blogged previously about how bird songs have changed since species have moved into urban environments. Looking at the behavioural ecology of species that inhabit human made habitats is an area that has only just begun to be explored. It's an area that I find fascinating and am looking forward to reading more about. It opens up a field of research that can straddle three disciplines: behavioural ecology, conservation and urban planning. If we can understand the impact we're having, on displaying, mating patterns, parental provisioning survival and habitat use, then we can plan urban areas to be friendlier to wildlife and do so while gaining a better understanding of the evolutionary process.
Bit of a rambling blog, but I've not written for a while and so felt that I should at least put something up!
Work by Bart Kempenaers et al. at the Max Planck Institute in Germany has shown that street lights have a big effect on breeding behaviour. Looking at four bird species, egg laying date was earlier in areas with street lights and males who had territories with street lights were more successful in gaining extra-pair mates than their lamp-less neighbours.
Human induced changes have wide-ranging impacts on wildlife, not just through habitat destruction, but through creating habitats that are colonized by animal and plant species. I've blogged previously about how bird songs have changed since species have moved into urban environments. Looking at the behavioural ecology of species that inhabit human made habitats is an area that has only just begun to be explored. It's an area that I find fascinating and am looking forward to reading more about. It opens up a field of research that can straddle three disciplines: behavioural ecology, conservation and urban planning. If we can understand the impact we're having, on displaying, mating patterns, parental provisioning survival and habitat use, then we can plan urban areas to be friendlier to wildlife and do so while gaining a better understanding of the evolutionary process.
Bit of a rambling blog, but I've not written for a while and so felt that I should at least put something up!
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