New Lit Alert: Artificial light at night alters diurnal and nocturnal behavior and physiology in green anole lizards

Artificial light at night alters diurnal and nocturnal behavior and physiology in green anole lizards Laura A.Taylor, Christopher J. Thawley, Olive R.Pertuit, Abigail J.Dennis, Isabela R.Carson, ChenTang, Michele A.Johnson Abstract Artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts biological rhythms across widely diverse organisms. To determine how energy is allocated by animals in different light environments, we investigated the... Continue Reading →

October 26, 2022 0

New Lit Alert: Oriented migratory flight at night: Consequences of nighttime light pollution for monarch butterflies

Oriented migratory flight at night: Consequences of nighttime light pollution for monarch butterflies Adam F. Parlin, Samuel M. Stratton, and Patrick A. Guerra Abstract We show that light trespass—a form of nighttime light pollution (NLP)—elicits normal daytime clock-mediated migratory behavior in fall monarch butterflies during their night-cycle. In controlled indoor flight simulator studies isolating the... Continue Reading →

May 19, 2022 0

New Lit Alert: Urbanization extends flight phenology and leads to local adaptation of seasonal plasticity in Lepidoptera

Urbanization extends flight phenology and leads to local adaptation of seasonal plasticity in Lepidoptera Thomas Merckx, Matthew E. Nielsen, Janne Heliölä, Mikko Kuussaari, Lars B. Pettersson, Juha Pöyry, Juha Tiainen, Karl Gotthard, and Sami M. Kivelä Abstract Urbanization is gaining force globally, which challenges biodiversity, and it has recently also emerged as an agent of... Continue Reading →

October 26, 2021 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Scaling Salamander

Amphibians can be really great "indicator species" that, if they are present and healthy, then the ecosystem is doing ok. Some amphibians though are really great generalists and can tolerate a range of ecosystem changes. This week, we see a two-lined salamander chomping on the bugs that the porch lights attract. Do you have a... Continue Reading →

November 18, 2020 0

Stress Hormones Do Not Reflect Urbanization in Birds and Other Reptiles

Life in the city is stressful, for humans and wildlife! One of the main physiological traits thought to be impacted by the novel pressures of urban life, such as noise and light pollution, is stress hormone concentration. Nevertheless, no patterns have emerged across species. Allison Injaian and co-authors fill this gap in knowledge with their... Continue Reading →

June 19, 2020 0

Urban Observation of the Week: Lizards at Night!

Anolis marmoratus in Guadeloupe (photo by K. Winchell)

Yesterday we shared some new research with you about the effects of light at night (ALAN) on anoles, featuring new research by contributor Chris Thawley. Today, we stick with that theme of activity at night and the night-light niche. In January (before I knew my fieldwork would be postponed indefinitely), I headed to the beautiful... Continue Reading →

May 13, 2020 0

Lighting Up Anoles at Night!

This week we are cross-posting (again) from Anole Annals. Check out the original post here, written by Pavitra Muralidhar. How we perceive and interact with the world is strongly shaped by natural light. How much light there is at a given time determines whether we’re sleepy or awake, and whether we’re bracing for winter or... Continue Reading →

May 12, 2020 2

SICB 2020: How is Light Effecting Behavior and Physiology of Anoles?

Urbanization is becoming a huge concern and many researchers at SICB 2020 wanted to study the effects it has on the surrounding wildlife. Laura Taylor, an undergraduate student at Trinity University, looked specifically at how urbanization and artificial light at night (ALAN) effected both the physiology and the behavior of anoles. Green anoles (Anolis carolinensis),... Continue Reading →

January 13, 2020 0

Evolution 2019: How Do Anoles Handle Artificial Light at Night?

In the second of four urban anole presentations at Evolution, Emmanuel D'Agostino does a great job summarizing new research by LITC contributor Chris Thawley. Chris' post-doc research has really delved into the night-light niche and ALAN, a topic that is no stranger to this blog (check out: It’s Lit in the City, Is Artificial Light Changing Pigeon... Continue Reading →

June 25, 2019 0

SICB 2019: Artificial Light at Night Has Various Effects on Wildlife

Have you ever stopped to look at the city lights at night? Have you ever wondered what impact these lights have on wildlife? Chris Thawley, Zach Forsburg, and Krystie Miner all asked this question in their research on artificial light at night, or ALAN. After exploring how ALAN, affected anoles in a laboratory setting,... Continue Reading →

January 5, 2019 0

It’s Lit in the City

Night life in the city can be much brighter and artificial lighting can be a significant source of new evolutionary directions for city dwellers. A recent study by Hopkins et al. (2018) researchers reviewed how Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) can drive evolutionary change in a theoretical population. How can artificial light at night (ALAN) drive evolution?... Continue Reading →

October 8, 2018 0

Tag: ALAN