Summary
Meta-analysis of 76 studies looking at 62 species of mammals, a total of 141 individuals, found that 83% of individual mammals increased nocturnality in response to human activity. These changes in behavior have consequences such as lowered fitness due to daytime sleeping and heightened competition from many species switching to nighttime hunting, altering the ecosystem. A limitation to this study is the 62 species they looked at were medium-large bodied mammals, so results may be different for smaller mammals. A strength in this study is that the range of variables investigated covered most human impact ranging from nonlethal activity to lethal activity, and infrastructure. This study suggests that human impact on the behavior of animals needs to be studied further to create appropriate conservation plans.
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