Assessing biological and environmental effects of a total solar eclipse with passive multimodal technologies

Buckley, Emma M. Brinley; Caven, Andrew J.; Gottesman, Benjamin L.; Harner, Mary J.; Pijanowski, Bryan C.; Forsberg, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.07.017

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Utilizing total solar eclipse events to document changes in floral, faunal, and ecosystem patterns have largely been housed within anecdotal accounts (Buckley et al, 2018) though can offer unique opportunities to understand how solar radiation structures ecological phenomena (Gil-Burmann & Beltrami, 2003;Kullenberg, 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Woody encroachment of grasslands: Near‐surface thermal implications assessed through the lens of an astronomical event

Tanner

Fuhlendorf

Polo

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Woody encroachment of grasslands: Near‐surface thermal implications assessed through the lens of an astronomical event

Tanner

Fuhlendorf

Polo

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…During a solar eclipse in Central Ethiopia in 2020, there was a profound decrease in calling, singing, foraging and moving, and courtship behavior amongst the birds observed (Mekonen 2021). Likewise, some birds significantly altered their vocalizations during the 2017 eclipse in the United States (Brinley Buckley et al 2018). In addition, on the north coast of Venezuela in 1998, birds ceased to forage over the water, and diurnal birds such as pelicans sought out their evening roosts during totality (Tramer 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A solar eclipse is an uncommon phenomenon that occurs when the moon obscures the sun's disk (Wiantoro 2019;Iskandar and Iskandar 2020), casting a shadow on Earth that produces a narrow path of totality (Nilsson et al 2018;Brinley Buckley et al 2018). Naturally, there is notable curiosity about the impact of solar eclipses on animal behavior (Wheeler et al 1935;Pandey and Shukla 1982;Gil-Burmann and Beltrami 2003;Nilsson et al 2018;Iskandar and Iskandar 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar Bird Banding: Notes on Changes in Avian Behavior While Mist-netting During an Eclipse

DeNiro,

Kittelberger,

Samani

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Solar eclipses present rare celestial events that can elicit unique behavioral responses in animals, yet comprehensive studies on these phenomena, particularly concerning bird behavior, remain limited. This study, conducted at the Red Butte Canyon Research Natural Area in Utah during the annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, aimed to document and analyze avian activity using bird banding data. Leveraging 11 years of banding records, we observed a surprising positive peak in bird captures, indicating increased activity during the eclipse, challenging conventional expectations of decreased activity during peak totality. The unexpected, record-breaking captures on the eclipse day at this location, which also surpassed the average trend in captures over time for 18 other banding days in mid-October, highlights the complexity of bird behavior during celestial events. This study marks the first known published effort to conduct bird banding during a solar eclipse. Quantitative analyses, including species composition and capture trends, contribute to a nuanced understanding of avian responses to the eclipse. This study underscores the importance of empirical research in unraveling the intricacies of how birds navigate and adapt to unique environmental conditions created by solar eclipses.

show abstract

“…Studies of animal behavior during solar eclipses tend to be brief in length compared to typical studies in this field and usually rely on relatively simple observational protocols to document activity. However, recent studies have incorporated more sophisticated methods to explore this topic including radar documenting the activity of flying animals [34] and acoustic monitoring of calling activities [35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Great American Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017 rekindled curiosity in animal behavior during an eclipse [34,35]. What made this most recent eclipse especially unique was the fact that it occurred over a relatively populous region of the globe, with approximately 12 million people living in the path of totality—garnering a lot of publicity [36]—many of whom own domestic animals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Social Media Observations of Animals During a Solar Eclipse to Published Research

Ritson

Ranglack

Bickford

2019

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A wide variety of environmental stimuli can influence the behavior of animals including temperature, weather, light, lunar and seasonal cycles, seismic activity, as well as other perturbations to their circadian rhythm. Solar eclipses offer a unique opportunity to evaluate the relative influence of unexpected darkness on behavior of animals due to their sudden interference with local light levels and meteorology. Though occasionally bizarre, modern studies have lent support to the idea that at least some individuals of certain species display altered behavior during these events. A comparison of informal observations of animal behavior during solar eclipse from social media (i.e., March for Science Facebook discussion) to those conducted scientifically (published literature) can elucidate how well this topic is being covered. Describing which species and behaviors are covered in each source can reveal gaps in the literature which can emphasize areas for future research. We enumerated a total of 685 observations of approximately 48 different types of animals reacting to the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse from over 800 posts on the discussion. The animals most frequently reported on social media as reacting to the eclipse were invertebrates (40% of social media observations) and birds (35% of social media observations). A total of 26 published studies recorded 169 behavior observations of approximately 131 different animal species. The group with the highest number of observations in the literature were birds with 62 records (37% of literature observations). Most observations reported decreases in activity (38.7% of bird observations) followed by increases in vocalization (24.2% of bird observations). There were approximately 30 different species of invertebrate observed (24% of literature observations), most frequently reported of which were zooplankton (14.6% of invertebrate observations).

show abstract

Assessing biological and environmental effects of a total solar eclipse with passive multimodal technologies

Cited by 14 publications

References 47 publications

Woody encroachment of grasslands: Near‐surface thermal implications assessed through the lens of an astronomical event

Woody encroachment of grasslands: Near‐surface thermal implications assessed through the lens of an astronomical event

Solar Bird Banding: Notes on Changes in Avian Behavior While Mist-netting During an Eclipse

Comparing Social Media Observations of Animals During a Solar Eclipse to Published Research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About