Migratory bats respond to artificial green light with positive phototaxis

Voigt, Christian C.; Roeleke, Manuel; Marggraf, Lara; Pētersons, Gunārs; Voigt-Heucke, Silke L.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0177748

Cited by 44 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…The observed orientations would lead bats southwards and back to the flyway along the dunes of the shoreline. Based on our findings combined with previous results about population genetics, phenological occurrences and flight behaviour at sea sides, we argue that P. pygmaeus can be considered a true migratory species, at least in northern parts of its distribution range (Ahlén et al ., ; Sztencel‐Jabłonka & Bogdanowicz, ; Rydell et al ., ; Voigt et al ., , ). Quantitative studies based on tagged individuals are now needed to evaluate how regular P. pygmaeus migrate over longer distances and where individuals of northern populations are overwintering.…”

Section: Conclusion and Open Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we focused on the orientation behaviour of individual P. pygmaeus caught between August and September at Pape Bird Ringing Station (PBRS) at the Latvian Baltic Sea coast. Previous acoustic studies demonstrated a regular occurrence of the species at PBRS during summer migration (Rydell et al ., ; Voigt et al ., , ), yet it is unknown if this reflects the seasonal occurrence of P. pygmaeus in this region without pronounced directional migration flights. Interestingly, similar to other bats passing PBRS on migration, P. pygmaeus only exceptionally displays foraging behaviour (Voigt et al ., , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous acoustic studies demonstrated a regular occurrence of the species at PBRS during summer migration (Rydell et al ., ; Voigt et al ., , ), yet it is unknown if this reflects the seasonal occurrence of P. pygmaeus in this region without pronounced directional migration flights. Interestingly, similar to other bats passing PBRS on migration, P. pygmaeus only exceptionally displays foraging behaviour (Voigt et al ., , ). In our study, we aimed to compare directionality of flights, here estimated as the orientation behaviour of departing P. pygmaeus with that of a well‐known European long‐distance migrant, P. nathusii .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

et al. 2019

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Migration routes of bats remain largely unknown, as previous orientation studies have been challenging even with newly developed techniques in tracking, genetic and stable isotope studies. However, a lack of knowledge about migrations poses problems for species conservation, especially in newly described species for which ecological information is not yet available. Here, we aimed to test flight orientation behaviour in the Soprano pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pygmaeus. This species has been described only 22 years ago but is now known to have a wide geographic distribution in Europe, yet virtually no information exists about seasonal movements of P. pygmaeus. In large parts of the continent, seasonal occurrence of P. pygmaeus matches with that of long‐distance migratory Nathusius' bats (Pipistrellus nathusii). To shed light on the migratory behaviour of both species, we investigated their orientation decisions at the Latvian Baltic Sea coast which is well‐known for summer bat migration along a north‐south axis. We developed an arena‐based assay designed to measure orientation of takeoffs. The arena was installed in the natural flight path of P. nathusii and P. pygmaeus, and after takeoff, bats chose the direction freely. We detected bearing fidelity between takeoff and departure flights, suggesting that bats used cues within the arena, putatively geomagnetic information, which allowed them to set a course prior to takeoff. Furthermore, our results show that P. pygmaeus orientates in a southerly, seasonally appropriate direction, similar to P. nathusii during ongoing migration. Therefore, our findings are consistent with true migratory behaviour of P. pygmaeus in the northern part of its range. Predicting flight directions of bats based on takeoff direction offers a simple test for orientation studies, and could further be used to test senses of bats under varying treatments, thereby facilitating a comparison of navigational skills across taxa, e.g., bats and birds.

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Section: Conclusion and Open Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

et al. 2019

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“…Almost all previous studies focused on bats during the nonmigration period. In the first study on migratory bats, Voigt, Roeleke, Marggraf, Pētersons, and Voigt‐Heucke () showed that bats are attracted to green light when migrating. Specifically, Voigt et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we used the same experimental setup at the migration corridor in Latvia as described by Voigt et al. (), but switched the light source from green wave length spectra to LED emitting light in the red and white spectrum. The wavelength composition in the red spectrum was similar to conventional red aviation light installed globally (Breckenridge, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migratory bats are attracted by red light but not by warm‐white light: Implications for the protection of nocturnal migrants

Voigt

Rehnig

Lindecke

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The replacement of conventional lighting with energy‐saving light emitting diodes (LED) is a worldwide trend, yet its consequences for animals and ecosystems are poorly understood. Strictly nocturnal animals such as bats are particularly sensitive to artificial light at night (ALAN). Past studies have shown that bats, in general, respond to ALAN according to the emitted light color and that migratory bats, in particular, exhibit phototaxis in response to green light. As red and white light is frequently used in outdoor lighting, we asked how migratory bats respond to these wavelength spectra. At a major migration corridor, we recorded the presence of migrating bats based on ultrasonic recorders during 10‐min light‐on/light‐off intervals to red or warm‐white LED, interspersed with dark controls. When the red LED was switched on, we observed an increase in flight activity for Pipistrellus pygmaeus and a trend for a higher activity for Pipistrellus nathusii. As the higher flight activity of bats was not associated with increased feeding, we rule out the possibility that bats foraged at the red LED light. Instead, bats may have flown toward the red LED light source. When exposed to warm‐white LED, general flight activity at the light source did not increase, yet we observed an increased foraging activity directly at the light source compared to the dark control. Our findings highlight a response of migratory bats toward LED light that was dependent on light color. The most parsimonious explanation for the response to red LED is phototaxis and for the response to warm‐white LED foraging. Our findings call for caution in the application of red aviation lighting, particularly at wind turbines, as this light color might attract bats, leading eventually to an increased collision risk of migratory bats at wind turbines.

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Oceanic records of North American bats and implications for offshore wind energy development in the United States

Solick¹,

Newman

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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The electricity potential from offshore wind in the United States is estimated to be more than 2000 gigawatts, roughly twice the nation's current total generation (Musail et al., 2016). Two wind farms are now in operation off the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia (Figure 1), while 29 offshore wind farms are in varying stages of development in the United States (AWEA, 2020a), with a projected build-out of 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by the year 2030. The adverse effects of offshore wind generation on wildlife are generally acknowledged to be low relative to those of conventional electricity generation technologies (Allison et al., 2019;Gibson et al., 2017). However, adverse impacts are still possible, and understanding the ecological significance of these effects is

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Migratory bats respond to artificial green light with positive phototaxis

Cited by 44 publications

References 47 publications

Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

Orientation and flight behaviour identify the Soprano pipistrelle as a migratory bat species at the Baltic Sea coast

Migratory bats are attracted by red light but not by warm‐white light: Implications for the protection of nocturnal migrants

Oceanic records of North American bats and implications for offshore wind energy development in the United States

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