Work

Chronobiology by moonlight

Year: 2013

Type: review

Abstract: Most studies in chronobiology focus on solar cycles (daily and annual). Moonlight and the lunar cycle received considerably less attention by chronobiologists. An exception are rhythms in intertidal species. Terrestrial ecologists long ago acknowledged the effects of moonlight on predation success, and consequently on predation risk, foraging behaviour and habitat use, while marine biologists have focused more on the behaviour and mainly on reproduction synchronization with relation to the Moon phase. Lately, several studies in different animal taxa addressed the role of moonlight in determining activity and studied the underlying mechanisms. In this paper, we review the ecological and behavioural evidence showing the effect of moonlight on activity, discuss the adaptive value of these changes, and describe possible mechanisms underlying this effect. We will also refer to other sources of night-time light ('light pollution') and highlight open questions that demand further studies.

Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.3088

Authors: Noga Kronfeld-Schor, Davide Dominoni, Horacio de la Iglesia, Oren Levy, Erik D. Herzog, Tamar Dayan, Charlotte Helfrich-Forster

Institutions: Tel Aviv University, University of Konstanz, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, University of Washington, Bar-Ilan University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Würzburg

Language: English

Topic: Impact of Light on Environment and Health

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2102275843

FWCI: 1.384

Cites: 162

Cited by: 245

Related to: 10