Does artificial light pollution impair problem-solving success in peafowl? Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH Behavioral innovations allow animals to adjust their behavior to solve novel problems. While innovative behavior can be important for animals living in new environments, anthropogenic pollution may limit their ability to adapt by impairing cognition or motivation. In particular, exposure to light pollution at night can cause sleep deprivation and may, therefore, hinder innovative behavior. To test this hypothesis, we examined experimentally whether exposure to acute light pollution impacts problem-solving success in peafowl (Pavo cristatus). After peafowl were exposed to artificial light pollution for one night, they were presented with a problem-solving task in which they could extract food by piercing the lid of an unfamiliar food bowl. Their problem-solving success was unrelated to short-term light pollution exposure. Other factors, including persistence, sex of the bird, and moon illumination, influenced their success in solving the task. The results suggest that short-term exposure to light pollution does not limit behavioral innovation, but long-term studies are necessary to further probe this question.

published proceedings

  • ETHOLOGY

altmetric score

  • 4.5

author list (cited authors)

  • Yorzinski, J. L., Ordonez, K. A., & Chema, K. T.

citation count

  • 5

complete list of authors

  • Yorzinski, Jessica L||Ordonez, Kimberly A||Chema, Kailey T

editor list (cited editors)

  • Ebensperger, L.

publication date

  • January 2017

publisher