10.5061/DRYAD.Q2S0S
York, Jennifer E.
University of Exeter
Young, Andrew J.
University of Exeter
Radford, Andrew N.
University of Bristol
Data from: Singing in the moonlight: dawn song performance of a diurnal
bird varies with lunar phase
Dryad
dataset
2014
Lunar cycle
song
Plocepasser mahali
Twilight
dawn chorus
2014-01-29T20:01:04Z
2014-01-29T20:01:04Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0970
17458 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
It is well established that the lunar cycle can affect the behaviour of
nocturnal animals, but its potential to have a similar influence on
diurnal species has received less research attention. Here we demonstrate
that the dawn song of a cooperative songbird, the white-browed sparrow
weaver (Plocepasser mahali), varies with moon phase. When the moon was
above the horizon at dawn, males began singing on average 10 minutes
earlier if there was a full moon compared to a new moon, resulting in a
67% mean increase in performance period and greater total song output. The
lack of a difference between full and new moon dawns when the moon was
below the horizon suggests that the observed effects were driven by light
intensity, rather than other factors associated with moon phase. Effects
of the lunar cycle on twilight signalling behaviour have implications for
both pure and applied animal communication research.
York et al_Data fileData collected from the field and location-specific
values obtained from
http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services
South Africa
Kalahari