The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus)

The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus)

Understanding behavioral changes of prey and predators based on lunar illumination provides insight into important life history, behavioral ecology, and survival information. The objectives of this research were to determine if bobcat movement rates differed by period of day (dark, moon, crepuscular...

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Main Authors: Rockhill, Aimee P., DePerno, Christopher S., Powell, Roger A.
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science 2013
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3704646/
id pubmed-3704646
recordtype oai_dc
spelling pubmed-37046462013-07-16 The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus) Rockhill, Aimee P. DePerno, Christopher S. Powell, Roger A. Research Article Understanding behavioral changes of prey and predators based on lunar illumination provides insight into important life history, behavioral ecology, and survival information. The objectives of this research were to determine if bobcat movement rates differed by period of day (dark, moon, crepuscular, day), lunar illumination (<10%, 10 - <50%, 50 - <90%, >90%), and moon phase (new, full). Bobcats had high movement rates during crepuscular and day periods and low movement rates during dark periods with highest nighttime rates at 10-<50% lunar illumination. Bobcats had highest movement rates during daytime when nighttime illumination was low (new moon) and higher movement rates during nighttime when lunar illumination was high (full moon). The behaviors we observed are consistent with prey availability being affected by light level and by limited vision by bobcats during darkness. Public Library of Science 2013-07-08 /pmc/articles/PMC3704646/ /pubmed/23861963 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069213 Text en © 2013 Rockhill et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
repository_type Open Access Journal
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building NCBI PubMed
collection Online Access
language English
format Online
author Rockhill, Aimee P.
DePerno, Christopher S.
Powell, Roger A.
spellingShingle Rockhill, Aimee P.
DePerno, Christopher S.
Powell, Roger A.
The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus)
author_facet Rockhill, Aimee P.
DePerno, Christopher S.
Powell, Roger A.
author_sort Rockhill, Aimee P.
title The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus)
title_short The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus)
title_full The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus)
title_fullStr The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus)
title_full_unstemmed The Effect of Illumination and Time of Day on Movements of Bobcats (Lynx rufus)
title_sort effect of illumination and time of day on movements of bobcats (lynx rufus)
description Understanding behavioral changes of prey and predators based on lunar illumination provides insight into important life history, behavioral ecology, and survival information. The objectives of this research were to determine if bobcat movement rates differed by period of day (dark, moon, crepuscular, day), lunar illumination (<10%, 10 - <50%, 50 - <90%, >90%), and moon phase (new, full). Bobcats had high movement rates during crepuscular and day periods and low movement rates during dark periods with highest nighttime rates at 10-<50% lunar illumination. Bobcats had highest movement rates during daytime when nighttime illumination was low (new moon) and higher movement rates during nighttime when lunar illumination was high (full moon). The behaviors we observed are consistent with prey availability being affected by light level and by limited vision by bobcats during darkness.
publisher Public Library of Science
publishDate 2013
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3704646/
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