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Animals becoming nocturnal to avoid people
#1
Even when we don't mean to bother animals we are having an impact on them. Studies are showing that animals that are not usually nocturnal and now moving in that direction. By being more active at night they can reduce interactions with people.

https://www.labroots.com/trending/plants...mans-study

This is happening, but I wonder what the consequences will be.  Will some animals really be able to adapt. Will they be more at risk from predators? Will they have a harder time with their food supply.

These are  good questions that only time will tell. Once again we are having an impact on the environment and its animals. 
Once again we do not know what the outcome will be. We are forcing change on the environment. We don't know what will happen as a result. We are forcing species to change and adapt to overcome the effects of our presence and we don't know  what the outcome will be. I have a feeling it will be a bit more serious than a few squirrels that stay up late and sleep during the day.
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Catherine

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#2
Yes, my instinct tells me it's going to have more impact than "a few squirrels that stay up late and sleep in the day".

Once things like this start to happen -against the natural balance, all sorts of things could result.

I realise adaptation has always been the key to evolution, and both animals and humans have had to learn to adapt to many changes -some of them sudden and impacting negatively such as natural disasters.
But I always get a queer feeling about anything that is forced by human lifestyles. Especially when it has anything to do with light pollution. All creatures are massively affected by light/darkness; their endocrine systems and brain function are influenced by circadian rhytms more than we realise.
And of course, any marked sudden changes involves the whole living system, not just a few species.
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#3
I am wondering now if they are really becoming nocturnal or is our light pollution robbing them of darkness.
Either way it is a situation that we have thrust upon them. Who knows what the outcome will be.
We may change our environment in ways we didn't expect and perhaps in ways we do not like.

If the squirrels start running around at night we may find ourselves unable to sleep. They can be quite rowdy.
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Catherine

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#4
It will be interesting to see how this affects things in the future. I would like to think that we could somehow find a balance with nature so that we don't harm it more than we already have.

Strangely, around here, animals are beginning to venture into towns and cities much more often, with no apparent regard for the people living there.
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#5
Quote:Strangely, around here, animals are beginning to venture into towns and cities much more often, with no apparent regard for the people living there.
That is noticeable here too. Raccoons have established themselves in the city and they are more sophisticated than there rural cousins. They understand doors and kitchens. We have coyotes on the edges of the city and even deer. They find a park and they settle down. They don't want to leave.
I have seem possums in the city and skunks. We have had a neighbourhood skunk for years.

Since the city is never dark these animals are not letting the light bother them. As we change how we live when we adapt to city life, the animals are changing with us. I don't know if it will harm the animals, but it will certainly change them.

I don't think we know how we are being changed either. Only time will tell.
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Catherine

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