The white-breasted nuthatch has good dim-light vision and has advanced the timing of nesting in response to light exposure, according to a new study . Image credit: Dave Keeling
The white-breasted nuthatch has good dim-light vision and has advanced the timing of nesting in response to light exposure, according to a new study . Image credit: Dave Keeling Looking for a bird's'eye view of human impact? A new study provides the most comprehensive picture yet of how human-caused noise and light pollution affect birds in North America, including how these factors may interact with or mask the impacts of climate change. Recent troubling findings suggest that North American bird populations have declined sharply in the last few decades. To develop effective strategies to reverse this trend, scientists and land managers need to understand what's causing the decline. The effects of noise and light pollution on the health of bird populations had been largely overlooked until some recent studies suggested that these stressors can harm individual species. With this new study, a continent-wide picture has emerged. "Our study provides the most comprehensive evidence that noise and light can profoundly alter reproduction of birds, even when accounting for other aspects of human activities,” said biologist Clint Francis of California Polytechnic State University, one of the study's lead authors.
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