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Author |
Van Geffen, K.G.; Groot, A.T.; Van Grunsven, R.H.A.; Donners, M.; Berendse, F.; Veenendaal, E.M. |

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Title |
Artificial night lighting disrupts sex pheromone in a noctuid moth: Moth sex pheromone in illuminated nights |
Type  |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2015 |
Publication |
Ecological Entomology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ecol Entomol |
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Volume |
40 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
401-408 |
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Keywords |
Animals; moths; Disruption; light pollution; Mamestra brassicae; sex pheromone composition; sexual communication |
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Abstract |
1. One major, yet poorly studied, change in the environment is the increase in nocturnal light pollution. Although this strongly alters the habitat of nocturnal species, the ecological consequences are poorly known. Moths are well known to be attracted to artificial light sources, but artificial light may affect them in other ways as well.
2. In this study, female Mamestra brassicae moths were subjected to various types of low-intensity artificial night lighting with contrasting spectral compositions (green-rich, red-rich, warm white) or to a dark control treatment and the effects on their sex pheromone production and composition were tested.
3. Artificial night lighting reduced sex pheromone production and altered the chemical composition of the pheromone blend, irrespective of spectral composition. Specifically, amounts of the main pheromone component Z11-16:Ac were reduced, while the deterring compounds Z9-14:Ac, Z9-16:Ac, and Z11-16:OH were increased relative to Z11-16:Ac when females were kept under artificial light. These changes may reduce the effectiveness of the sex pheromones, becoming less attractive for males.
4. These results show for the first time that artificial light at night affects processes that are involved in moth reproduction. The potential for mitigation through manipulation of the spectral composition of artificial light appears limited. |
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Astrid T. Groot, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, the Netherlands. E-mail: a.t.groot(at)uva.nl |
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John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
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English |
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English |
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0307-6946 |
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LoNNe @ christopher.kyba @ |
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1153 |
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Author |
Dominoni, D.M.; Goymann, W.; Helm, B.; Partecke, J. |

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Title |
Urban-like night illumination reduces melatonin release in European blackbirds (Turdus merula): implications of city life for biological time-keeping of songbirds |
Type  |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2013 |
Publication |
Frontiers in Zoology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Front Zool |
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Volume |
10 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
60 |
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Keywords |
European blackbirds; birds; Turdus merula; animals; melatonin; *Photoperiod |
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Abstract |
INTRODUCTION: Artificial light-at-night is known to affect a broad array of behaviours and physiological processes. In urbanized bird species, light-at-night advances important biological rhythms such as daily cycles of activity/rest and timing of reproduction, but our knowledge of the underlying physiological mechanisms is limited. Given its role as chronobiological signal, melatonin is a strong candidate for mediating the effects of light-at-night. RESULTS: We exposed urban and rural European blackbirds (Turdus merula) to two light treatments equal in photoperiod but with different light intensities at night. The control group was exposed to 0.0001 lux (almost darkness), while the experimental group was exposed to 0.3 lux at night, simulating conditions recorded previously on free-living urban blackbirds. We obtained diel profiles of plasma melatonin for all birds in summer (July) and winter (January), while simultaneously recording locomotor activity. Daily patterns of melatonin concentrations were clearly affected by light-at-night in both seasons. In winter, melatonin concentrations of light-at-night birds were lower in the early and late night than in those of birds kept in darkness. In summer, melatonin concentrations of the light-at-night birds were lower through all night compared to birds kept in darkness. Locomotor activity in light-at-night birds was overall higher than in control individuals, both during the day and at night, and it increased sharply before dawn. In winter, the amount of activity before dawn in the light-at-night group correlated with changes in melatonin from midnight to late night: the greater the decrease in melatonin, the greater the amount of pre-dawn activity. Urban and rural birds responded similarly to light-at-night with respect to melatonin, but differed in their behaviour, with rural birds showing more locomotor activity than urban counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: This study points to reduced melatonin release at night as a potential physiological mechanism underlying the advanced onset of morning activity of urbanized birds. Based on the pattern of melatonin secretion, we suggest that birds responded to light-at-night as if they were exposed to a longer day than birds kept under dark nights. |
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Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany. ddominoni@orn.mpg.de |
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1742-9994 |
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PMID:24090446; PMCID:PMC3850952 |
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IDA @ john @ |
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41 |
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Author |
Dominoni, D.M.; Helm, B.; Lehmann, M.; Dowse, H.B.; Partecke, J. |

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Title |
Clocks for the city: circadian differences between forest and city songbirds |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2013 |
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Proceedings. Biological Sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
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280 |
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1763 |
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20130593 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Circadian Clocks/*physiology; Circadian Rhythm; Cities; *Ecosystem; Light; Male; Songbirds/classification/*physiology; Trees; Urbanization; birds; chronotype; circadian rhythms; light at night; radio-telemetry; urbanization |
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Abstract |
To keep pace with progressing urbanization organisms must cope with extensive habitat change. Anthropogenic light and noise have modified differences between day and night, and may thereby interfere with circadian clocks. Urbanized species, such as birds, are known to advance their activity to early morning and night hours. We hypothesized that such modified activity patterns are reflected by properties of the endogenous circadian clock. Using automatic radio-telemetry, we tested this idea by comparing activity patterns of free-living forest and city European blackbirds (Turdus merula). We then recaptured the same individuals and recorded their activity under constant conditions. City birds started their activity earlier and had faster but less robust circadian oscillation of locomotor activity than forest conspecifics. Circadian period length predicted start of activity in the field, and this relationship was mainly explained by fast-paced and early-rising city birds. Although based on only two populations, our findings point to links between city life, chronotype and circadian phenotype in songbirds, and potentially in other organisms that colonize urban habitats, and highlight that urban environments can significantly modify biologically important rhythms in wild organisms. |
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Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell 78479, Germany. ddominoni@orn.mpg.de |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:23740778; PMCID:PMC3774226 |
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IDA @ john @ |
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42 |
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Author |
Nordt, A.; Klenke, R. |

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Title |
Sleepless in town--drivers of the temporal shift in dawn song in urban European blackbirds |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2013 |
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PloS one |
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PLoS One |
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8 |
Issue |
8 |
Pages |
e71476 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Automobiles; Cities; Ecosystem; Germany; Humans; Light; Male; Noise; Photoperiod; Sleep; Songbirds/*physiology; Urban Population; *Vocalization, Animal; dawn chorus; morning chorus |
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Organisms living in urban environments are exposed to different environmental conditions compared to their rural conspecifics. Especially anthropogenic noise and artificial night light are closely linked to urbanization and pose new challenges to urban species. Songbirds are particularly affected by these factors, because they rely on the spread of acoustic information and adjust their behaviour to the rhythm of night and day, e.g. time their dawn song according to changing light intensities. Our aim was to clarify the specific contributions of artificial night light and traffic noise on the timing of dawn song of urban European Blackbirds (Turdus merula). We investigated the onset of blackbird dawn song along a steep urban gradient ranging from an urban forest to the city centre of Leipzig, Germany. This gradient of anthropogenic noise and artificial night light was reflected in the timing of dawn song. In the city centre, blackbirds started their dawn song up to 5 hours earlier compared to those in semi-natural habitats. We found traffic noise to be the driving factor of the shift of dawn song into true night, although it was not completely separable from the effects of ambient night light. We additionally included meteorological conditions into the analysis and found an effect on the song onset. Cloudy and cold weather delayed the onset, but cloud cover was assumed to reflect night light emissions, thus, amplified sky luminance and increased the effect of artificial night light. Beside these temporal effects, we also found differences in the spatial autocorrelation of dawn song onset showing a much higher variability in noisy city areas than in rural parks and forests. These findings indicate that urban hazards such as ambient noise and light pollution show a manifold interference with naturally evolved cycles and have significant effects on the activity patterns of urban blackbirds. |
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Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Conservation Biology, Leipzig, Germany. anja.nordt@ufz.de |
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1932-6203 |
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PMID:23940759; PMCID:PMC3737108 |
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IDA @ john @ |
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43 |
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Author |
Dwyer, R.G.; Bearhop, S.; Campbell, H.A.; Bryant, D.M. |

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Title |
Shedding light on light: benefits of anthropogenic illumination to a nocturnally foraging shorebird |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2013 |
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The Journal of Animal Ecology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Anim Ecol |
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82 |
Issue |
2 |
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478-485 |
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Keywords |
Artificial light; Dmsp/Ols; foraging strategy; moonlight; shorebirds; birds; animals; foraging; Tringa totanus; common redshank |
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Intertidal habitats provide important feeding areas for migratory shorebirds. Anthropogenic developments along coasts can increase ambient light levels at night across adjacent inter-tidal zones. Here, we report the effects of elevated nocturnal light levels upon the foraging strategy of a migratory shorebird (common redshank Tringa totanus) overwintering on an industrialised estuary in Northern Europe. To monitor behaviour across the full intertidal area, individuals were located by day and night using VHF transmitters, and foraging behaviour was inferred from inbuilt posture sensors. Natural light was scored using moon-phase and cloud cover information and nocturnal artificial light levels were obtained using geo-referenced DMSP/OLS night-time satellite imagery at a 1-km resolution. Under high illumination levels, the commonest and apparently preferred foraging behaviour was sight-based. Conversely, birds feeding in areas with low levels of artificial light had an elevated foraging time and fed by touch, but switched to visual rather than tactile foraging behaviour on bright moonlit nights in the absence of cloud cover. Individuals occupying areas which were illuminated continuously by lighting from a large petrochemical complex invariably exhibited a visually based foraging behaviour independently of lunar phase and cloud cover. We show that ambient light levels affect the timing and distribution of foraging opportunities for redshank. We argue that light emitted from an industrial complex improved nocturnal visibility. This allowed sight-based foraging in place of tactile foraging, implying both a preference for sight-feeding and enhanced night-time foraging opportunities under these conditions. The study highlights the value of integrating remotely sensed data and telemetry techniques to assess the effect of anthropogenic change upon nocturnal behaviour and habitat use. |
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Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9EZ, UK |
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0021-8790 |
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PMID:23190422 |
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IDA @ john @ |
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44 |
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