Combined effects of light pollution and vegetation height on behavior and body weight in a nocturnal rodent

Abstract

At a global scale, organisms are under threat due to various kinds of environmental changes, such as artificial light at night (ALAN), noise, climatic change and vegetation destruction. Usually, these changes co-vary in time and space and may take effect simultaneously. Although impacts of ALAN on biological processes have been well documented, our knowledge on the combined effects of ALAN and other environmental changes on animals remains limited. In this study, we conducted field experiments in semi-natural enclosures to explore the combined effects of ALAN and vegetation height on foraging behavior, vigilance, activity patterns and body weight in dwarf striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis), a nocturnal rodent widely distributed in East Asia. We find that ALAN and vegetation height affected different aspects of behavior. ALAN negatively affected search speed and positively affected handling speed, while vegetation height negatively affected giving-up density and positively affected body weight. ALAN and vegetation height also additively shaped total time spent in a food patch. No significant interactive effect of ALAN and vegetation height was detected. C. barabensis exposed to ALAN and short vegetation suffered a significant loss in body weight, and possessed a much narrower temporal niche (i.e. initiated activity later but became inactive earlier) than those under other combinations of treatments. The observed behavioral responses to ALAN and changes in vegetation height may bring fitness consequences, as well as further changes in structure and functioning of local ecosystems.