Avian Macrobehavior

In collaboration with the Gilbert Lab, we work on emerging global change through avian macrobehavior. Macrobehavior is the synthesis of macroecology, which seeks to document broad-scale biodiversity patterns and to understand the mechanisms driving those patterns, and behavioral ecology, which seeks to understand the evolutionary and ecological bases of animal behavior. Our overarching hypothesis is that broad-scale abiotic (e.g., light, climate) and biotic (e.g., species richness) context drive global-scale, predictable patterns of animal behavior, and with this predictability comes improved predictive power for wildlife conservation.

1. Light pollution and avian vocalization activity

   Using a global dataset of avian vocalization detections, we demonstrated that a bird’s day is nearly an hour longer. See our work in Science, which ranks in top 5% of all research scored on Altmetric.

   Press coverage: NPR, Washington Post, Science News, Gizmodo

2. Photic Niche and Solar Eclipses

   Combining efforts from PEASE Lab’s Sounds of Nature participatory project with Eclipse Soundscapes, we showed that a bird’s photic niche—the set of light conditions in which an animal engages in activity—best predicted wildlife responses to solar eclipses. We are actively developing the photic niche concept for predicting animal activity patterns.

3. Clouds, light pollution, and avian activity

   Anthropogenic light pollution is a major conservation concern because it disrupts the natural light cues upon which animals rely to time behavior. While the broad-scale impacts of light pollution on animal behavior are increasingly recognized, it is unclear how environmental context mediates light pollution effects on wildlife. In a combined lab-led effort, Gilbert Lab and PEASE Lab are working on how cloud cover modulates responses to light pollution.

4. High-latitude effects of cloud cover on animal behavior

   In continued development of macrobehavior, we assessed how latitudal gradients in solar intensity interact with global patterns in cloud cover to create predictable animal activity timing. Our goal was to evaluate latitudinal dependence of cloud cover effects on avian vocalization behavior.

5. birdweatheR

   Much of our avian macrobehavior work is a result of the BirdWeather database, which combines avian vocalization records with environmental data. We have developed an R package to increase access and usability of the database for wildlife conservation research.