Adverse effects of artificial illumination on bat drinking activity

摘要: Artificial illumination at night (ALAN) alters many aspects of animal behaviour. Commuting and foraging bats have been found to be affected by ALAN, but no study has yet addressed the impact lighting on drinking activity, despite its critical importance for bats. We experimentally illuminated cattle troughs used four forest sites in Italy, compared activity under lit dark conditions. predicted that (1) number bat species events will lower (2) more than edge specialists. recorded 2549 from 12 or groups, most which decreased illumination. The effects ALAN were stronger foraging. Forest never drank when light was on. Edge-foraging reduced while also increasing highlight a previously overlooked negative effect bats, whose implications may locally catastrophic. Given water both drinking, their should forbidden, appropriately mitigated or, if necessary, compensated with creation alternative sites.