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Cabrera-Cruz, S. A., Smolinsky, J. A., McCarthy, K. P., & Buler, J. J. (2019). Urban areas affect flight altitudes of nocturnally migrating birds. J Anim Ecol, 88(12), 1873–1887.
Abstract: 1.Urban areas affect terrestrial ecological processes and local weather, but we know little about their effect on aerial ecological processes. 2.Here, we identify urban from non-urban areas based on the intensity of artificial light at night (ALAN) in the landscape, and, along with weather covariates, evaluate the effect of urbanization on flight altitudes of nocturnally migrating birds. 3.Birds are attracted to ALAN, hence we predicted that altitudes would be lower over urban than over non-urban areas. However, other factors associated with urbanization may also affect flight altitudes. For example, surface temperature and terrain roughness are higher in urban areas, increasing air turbulence, height of the boundary layer, and affecting local winds. 4.We used data from nine weather surveillance radars in the eastern US to estimate altitudes at five quantiles of the vertical distribution of birds migrating at night over urban and non-urban areas during five consecutive spring and autumn migration seasons. We fit generalized linear mixed models by season for each of the five quantiles of bird flight altitude and their differences between urban and non-urban areas. 5.After controlling for other environmental variables and contrary to our prediction, we found that birds generally fly higher over urban areas compared to rural areas in spring, and marginally higher at the mid layers of the vertical distribution in autumn. We also identified a small interaction effect between urbanization and crosswind speed, and between urbanization and surface air temperature, on flight altitudes. We also found that the difference in flight altitudes of nocturnally migrating birds between urban and non-urban areas varied among radars and seasons, but were consistently higher over urban areas throughout the years sampled. 6.Our results suggest that the effects of urbanization on wildlife extend into the aerosphere, and are complex, stressing the need of understanding the influence of anthropogenic factors on airspace habitat. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Van Doren, B., Horton, K. G., Dokter, A. M., Klinck, H., Elbin, S. B., Farnsworth, A., Dokter, A. M., et al. (2017). High-intensity urban light installation dramatically alters nocturnal bird migration. PNAS, 114(42), 11175–11180.
Abstract: Billions of nocturnally migrating birds move through increasingly photopolluted skies, relying on cues for navigation and orientation that artificial light at night (ALAN) can impair. However, no studies have quantified avian responses to powerful ground-based light sources in urban areas. We studied effects of ALAN on migrating birds by monitoring the beams of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum's “Tribute in Light†in New York, quantifying behavioral responses with radar and acoustic sensors and modeling disorientation and attraction with simulations. This single light source induced significant behavioral alterations in birds, even in good visibility conditions, in this heavily photopolluted environment, and to altitudes up to 4 km. We estimate that the installation influenced ≈1.1 million birds during our study period of 7 d over 7 y. When the installation was illuminated, birds aggregated in high densities, decreased flight speeds, followed circular flight paths, and vocalized frequently. Simulations revealed a high probability of disorientation and subsequent attraction for nearby birds, and bird densities near the installation exceeded magnitudes 20 times greater than surrounding baseline densities during each year’s observations. However, behavioral disruptions disappeared when lights were extinguished, suggesting that selective removal of light during nights with substantial bird migration is a viable strategy for minimizing potentially fatal interactions among ALAN, structures, and birds. Our results also highlight the value of additional studies describing behavioral patterns of nocturnally migrating birds in powerful lights in urban areas as well as conservation implications for such lighting installations.
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