![Owl at Night](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Owl_at_Night.jpg)
Nocturnality is an
animal behavior
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...
characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus
diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed senses of
hearing,
smell
Smell may refer to;
* Odor, airborne molecules perceived as a scent or aroma
* Sense of smell, the scent also known scientifically as olfaction
* "Smells" (''Bottom''), an episode of ''Bottom''
* The Smell, a music venue in Los Angeles, Californ ...
, and specially adapted
eyesight. Some animals, such as
cats and
ferret
The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, Domestication, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), evidenced by their Hybrid (biol ...
s, have eyes that can adapt to both low-level and bright day levels of illumination (see
metaturnal
Cathemerality, sometimes called metaturnality, is an organismal activity pattern of irregular intervals during the day or night in which food is acquired, socializing with other organisms occurs, and any other activities necessary for livelihood ar ...
). Others, such as
bushbabies
Galagos , also known as bush babies, or ''nagapies'' (meaning "night monkeys" in Afrikaans), are small nocturnal primates native to continental, sub-Sahara Africa, and make up the family Galagidae (also sometimes called Galagonidae). They are ...
and (some)
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
s, can function only at night. Many nocturnal creatures including
tarsiers and some
owls
Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vi ...
have large eyes in comparison with their body size to compensate for the lower light levels at night. More specifically, they have been found to have a larger
cornea
The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...
relative to their eye size than diurnal creatures to increase their : in the low-light conditions.
Nocturnality helps
wasps
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...
, such as ''
Apoica flavissima
''Apoica flavissima'' is a paper wasp found primarily in South America. The species is distinguishable by its light coloring, unique single comb nests, and nocturnal nature. A notable feature of this species is the size dimorphism between queens ...
'', avoid hunting in intense sunlight.
Diurnal animals, including
squirrel
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
s and songbirds, are active during the daytime.
Crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...
species, such as
rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
s,
skunk
Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...
s,
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
s and
hyena
Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...
s, are often erroneously referred to as nocturnal.
Cathemeral species, such as
fossa
Fossa may refer to:
Animals
* Fossa (animal), the common name of a carnivoran mammal of genus ''Cryptoprocta'' endemic to Madagascar
* ''Fossa'', the Latin genus name of the Malagasy civet, a related but smaller mammal endemic to Madagascar
Pla ...
s and
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
s, are active both in the day and at night.
Origins
![Kiwi bird in Christchurch, New Zealand, 2002-01-01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Kiwi_bird_in_Christchurch%2C_New_Zealand%2C_2002-01-01.jpg)
While it is difficult to say which came first, nocturnality or diurnality, there is a leading hypothesis out in the evolutionary biology community. Known as the "bottleneck theory", it postulates that millions of years ago in the Mesozoic era, many ancestors of modern-day mammals evolved nocturnal characteristics in order to avoid contact with the numerous diurnal predators. A recent study attempts to answer the question as to why so many modern day mammals retain these nocturnal characteristics even though they are not active at night. The leading answer is that the high visual acuity that comes with diurnal characteristics isn't needed anymore due to the evolution of compensatory sensory systems, such as a heightened sense of smell and more astute auditory systems.
In a recent study, recently extinct
elephant birds and modern day nocturnal
kiwi bird skulls were examined to recreate their likely brain and skull formation. They indicated that olfactory bulbs were much larger in comparison to their optic lobes, indicating they both have a common ancestor who evolved to function as a nocturnal species, decreasing their eyesight in favor of a better sense of smell.
The anomaly to this theory were
anthropoids
The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder (Simiiformes ) of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) and Catarrhi ...
, who appeared to have the most divergence from nocturnality than all organisms examined. While most mammals didn't exhibit the morphological characteristics expected of a nocturnal creature, reptiles and birds fit in perfectly. A larger cornea and pupil correlated well with whether these two classes of organisms were nocturnal or not.
Advantages
Resource competition
![Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis) (17425848662)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Honey_Badger_%28Mellivora_capensis%29_%2817425848662%29.jpg)
Being active at night is a form of
niche differentiation
In ecology, niche differentiation (also known as niche segregation, niche separation and niche partitioning) refers to the process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist. The competitive excl ...
, where a species' niche is partitioned not by the amount of resources but by the amount of time (i.e. temporal division of the
ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition.
Three variants of ecological niche are described by
It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (for ...
).
Hawk
Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
s and
owls can hunt the same field or meadow for the same rodents without conflict because hawks are diurnal and owls are nocturnal. This means they are not in competition for each other's prey. Another niche that being nocturnal lessens competition within is
pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds ...
- nocturnal pollinators such as moths, beetles, thrips, and bats have a lower risk of being seen by predators, and the plants evolved temporal scent production and ambient heat to attract nocturnal pollination. Like with predators hunting the same prey, some plants such as apples can be pollinated both during the day and at night.
Predation
![Bat flying at night](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Bat_flying_at_night.png)
Nocturnality is a form of
crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an animal or a plant to avoid observation or detection by other animals. It may be a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation. Methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle and ...
, an adaptation to avoid or enhance
predation
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
. Although lions are
cathemeral, and may be active at any time of day or night, they prefer to hunt at night because many of their prey species (
zebra,
antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
, impala,
wildebeest
Wildebeest ( , , ), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toe ...
, etc.) have poor night vision. Many species of small rodents, such as the
Large Japanese Field Mouse
The large Japanese field mouse (''Apodemus speciosus'') is a nocturnal species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is endemic to Japan.
Distribution and habitat
The species appears to be present on all Japanese islands. It inhabits forests, gras ...
, are active at night because most of the dozen or so
birds of prey that hunt them are diurnal. There are many diurnal species that exhibit some nocturnal behaviors. For example, many
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s and
sea turtle
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...
s only gather at breeding sites or colonies at night to reduce the risk of predation to themselves and/or their offspring. Nocturnal species take advantage of the night time to prey on species that are used to avoiding diurnal predators. Some nocturnal fish species will use the moonlight to prey on zooplankton species that come to the surface at night.
Some species have developed unique adaptations that allow them to hunt in the dark. Bats are famous for using
echolocation to hunt down their prey, using sonar sounds to capture them in the dark.
Water conservation
Another reason for nocturnality is avoiding the heat of the day. This is especially true in
arid
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...
biome
A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
s like
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
s, where nocturnal behavior prevents creatures from losing precious water during the hot, dry daytime. This is an
adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
that enhances
osmoregulation. One of the reasons that (
cathemeral) lions prefer to hunt at night is to conserve water.
Hamiltons Frog
The Hamilton's frog ''(Leiopelma hamiltoni)'' is a primitive frog native to New Zealand, one of only four extant species belonging to the family Leiopelmatidae. New Zealand's frog species all are in the family Leiopelmatidae. The male remains with ...
, found on Stephens and Maud islands, stays hidden for the majority of the day when temperatures are warmer and are mainly active at night. They will only come out during the day if there are humid and cool conditions.
Many plant species native to arid biomes have adapted so that their flowers only open at night when the sun's intense heat cannot wither and destroy their moist, delicate blossoms. These flowers are
pollinated by bats, another creature of the night.
Climate-change and the change in global temperatures has led to an increasing amount of diurnal species to push their activity patterns closer towards crepuscular or fully nocturnal behavior. This adaptive measure allows species to avoid the heat of the day, without having to leave that particular habitat.
Human disturbances
The exponential increase in human expansion and technological advances in the last few centuries has had a major effect on nocturnal animals, as well as diurnal species. The causes of these can be traced to distinct, sometimes overlapping areas:
light pollution
Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...
and spatial disturbance.
Light pollution
![Light Pollution (5346483205)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Light_Pollution_%285346483205%29.jpg)
Light pollution is a major issue for nocturnal species, and the impact continues to increase as electricity reaches parts of the world that previously had no access. Species in the tropics are generally more affected by this due to the change in their relatively constant light patterns, but temperate species relying on day-night triggers for behavioral patterns are also affected as well. Many diurnal species see the benefit of a "longer day", allowing for a longer hunting period which is detrimental to their nocturnal prey trying to avoid them.
Orientation
Light pollution can disorient species that are used to darkness, as their adaptive eyes are not as used to the artificial lighting. Insects are the most obvious example, who are attracted by the lighting and are usually killed by either the heat or electrical current.
Some species of frogs are blinded by the quick changes in light, while nocturnal migratory birds may be disoriented, causing them to lose direction, tire out, or be captured by predators.
Sea turtles are particularly affected by this, adding to a number of threats to the different endangered species. Adults are likely to stay away from artificially lit beaches that they might prefer to lay eggs on, as there is less cover against predators.
Additionally, baby sea turtles that hatch from eggs on artificially lit beaches often get lost, heading towards the light sources as opposed to the ocean.
Rhythmic behaviors
Rhythmic behaviors are affected by light pollution both seasonally and daily patterns. Migrating birds or mammals might have issues with the timing of their movement for example.
On a day-to-day basis, species can see significant changes in their internal temperatures, their general movement, feeding and body mass.
These small scale changes can eventually lead to a population decline, as well as hurting local trophic levels and interconnecting species.
Some typically diurnal species have even become crepuscular or nocturnal as a result of light pollution and general human disturbance.
Reproduction
There have been documented effects of light pollution on reproductive cycles and factors in different species. It can affect
mate choice
Mate choice is one of the primary mechanisms under which evolution can occur. It is characterized by a "selective response by animals to particular stimuli" which can be observed as behavior.Bateson, Paul Patrick Gordon. "Mate Choice." Mate Choic ...
, migration to breeding grounds, and nest site selection.
In male
green frogs, artificial light causes a decrease in mate calls and continued to move around instead of waiting for a potential mate to arrive.
This hurts the overall
fitness of the species, which is concerning considering the overall decrease in
amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
populations.
Predation
Some nocturnal predator-prey relationships are interrupted by artificial lighting. Bats that are fast-moving are often at an advantage with insects being drawn to light; they are fast enough to escape any predators also attracted to the light, leaving slow-moving bats at a disadvantage.
Another example is
harbor seal
The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared sea ...
s eating juvenile
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
that moved down a river lit by nearby artificial lighting. Once the lights were turned off, predation levels decreased.
Many diurnal prey species forced into being nocturnal are susceptible to nocturnal predators and those species with poor nocturnal eyesight often bear the brunt of the cost.
Spatial disturbance
The increasing amount of habitat destruction worldwide as a result of human expansion has given both advantages and disadvantages to different nocturnal animals. As a result of peak human activity in the daytime, more species are likely to be active at night in order to avoid the new disturbance in their habitat.
Carnivorous predators however are less timid of the disturbance, feeding on human waste and keeping a relatively similar spatial habitat as they did before.
In comparison, herbivorous prey tend to stay in areas where human disturbance is low, limiting both resources and their spatial habitat. This leads to an imbalance in favor of predators, who increase in population and come out more often at night.
In captivity
Zoos
In
zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological g ...
s, nocturnal animals are usually kept in special
night-illumination enclosures to invert their normal
sleep-wake cycle and to keep them active during the hours when visitors will be there to see them.
Pets
Hedgehogs and
sugar gliders are just two of the many nocturnal species kept as (
exotic
Exotic may refer to:
Mathematics and physics
* Exotic R4, a differentiable 4-manifold, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the Euclidean space R4
* Exotic sphere, a differentiable ''n''-manifold, homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic to the ordina ...
) pets. Cats have adapted to domestication so that each individual, whether stray alley cat or pampered housecat, can change their activity level at will, becoming nocturnal or
diurnal in response to their environment or the routine of their owners. Cats normally demonstrate
crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...
behavior, bordering nocturnal, being most active in hunting and exploration at dusk and dawn.
See also
*
Adaption
*
Antipredator adaptation
*
Competitive exclusion principle
In ecology, the competitive exclusion principle, sometimes referred to as Gause's law, is a proposition that two species which compete for the same limited resource cannot coexist at constant population values. When one species has even the sligh ...
*
Crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal, vespertine, or both. This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylig ...
*
Crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an animal or a plant to avoid observation or detection by other animals. It may be a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation. Methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle and ...
*
Diurnality
Diurnality is a form of plant and ethology, animal behavior characterized by activity during daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The common adjective used for daytime activity is "diurnal". The timing of activity by a ...
*
List of nocturnal animals
*
List of nocturnal birds
There are many birds that are active nocturnally. Some, like owls and nighthawks, are predominantly nocturnal whereas others do specific tasks, like migrating, nocturnally.
* North Island brown kiwi, ''Apteryx mantelli''
* Black-crowned night ...
*
Niche (ecology)
*
Niche differentiation
In ecology, niche differentiation (also known as niche segregation, niche separation and niche partitioning) refers to the process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist. The competitive excl ...
*
Night owl (person)
References
{{Evo ecol
Antipredator adaptations
Behavioral ecology
Biological interactions
Chronobiology
Circadian rhythm
Ethology
Predation
Sleep