Effects of enhanced lighting on the behaviour of nocturnal frogs

Abstract

Abstract. Biologists studying anuran amphibians usually assume that artificial, visible light does not affect the behaviour of nocturnal frogs. This assumption was tested in a laboratory experiment. The foraging behaviour of grey treefrogs, Hyla chrysoscelis, was compared under four lighting conditions: ambient light (equivalent to bright moonlight, 0·003 lx), red-filtered light (4·1 lx), low-intensity 'white' light (3·8 lx), and high-intensity 'white' light (12·0 lx). The treatments were chosen to correspond to standard methods of field observation of frog behaviour. The foraging behaviour of frogs in the four treatments was observed using infra-red light that was invisible to the frogs. The ability of the frogs to detect, and subsequently consume prey was significantly reduced under all of the enhanced light treatments relative to the ambient light treatment. Thus, the use of artificial light, within the visible spectrum of the frogs' eyes, can influence the outcome of nocturnal behavioural observations. These results lead to the recommendation that anuran biologists use infra-red or light amplification devices when changes in frogs' visual capabilities may influence the conclusions drawn from a study.