Abstract
Ecological light pollution alters an environment’s light cycle, potentially affecting photoperiod-controlled behavior. Anurans, for example, generally breed nocturnally, and the influence of light pollution on their natural history may therefore be especially strong. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by measuring male calling behavior of anuran communities in natural wetlands in southern Brazil exposed or not exposed to street lights. We recorded seasonal and diel calling activity and calling response to a light pulse. The peak calling season differed between continuously lit and unlit locations with most species in illuminated wetlands shortening their calling season and calling earlier in the year. In unlit breeding sites, Boana pulchella, Pseudis minuta, and Pseudopaludicola falcipes confined their calling activity to well-defined hours of the night, but in continuously lit areas, these species called more continuously through the night. A 2-minute light pulse inhibited calling, but only in unlit wetlands. After a light pulse, frogs quickly resumed calling—suggesting acclimatization to brief artificial light exposure. Our field experiment presents a convincing example of ecological light pollution showing that artificial light alters the seasonal and diel calling time of some South American wetland anurans. It also documents their acclimatization to brief lighting when being continuously exposed to light.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgments
The Taim Ecological Station permitted us to carry out the research in their locality and provided accommodations. We are also grateful to colleagues Nathan Arocha, Saulo Pino, and Sandra Halfen for assisting us with field work. Finally, we thank Cassio Hervé for help with the analysis of the lamps.
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We thank the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel for the financial support.
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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Permit number: 54857 issued by Sisbio, Brazil.
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Communicated by: Matthias Waltert
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Dias, K.S., Dosso, E.S., Hall, A.S. et al. Ecological light pollution affects anuran calling season, daily calling period, and sensitivity to light in natural Brazilian wetlands. Sci Nat 106, 46 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-019-1640-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-019-1640-y