鸣鸟会通过唱歌吸引伴侣，而唱歌的时间是随着阳光调整的。但是《当代生物学》杂志的研究表明，这种时间调配规律已经被打破了——罪魁祸首就是路灯。
Songbirds sing to entice mates, and the timing of those songs is often regulated by sunlight. But that timing is getting thrown off—by streetlamps. That’s according to research published in the journal Current Biology. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany studied five common forest-breeding songbirds. Males in four species started singing significantly earlier in the morning if they lived near streetlights than did their deep forest-dwelling kin. And for one species studied, males were more successful at attracting extra-pair mates. Those are females other than the male’s primary nest-mate with whom they sire offspring. Sounds great, right? Well, the researchers say, not so fast. They note that the males may be weaker, because they get less sleep due to the lights. And so females who used to take early singing as a sign of virility may be attracted to weaker males who simply can’t sleep because the lights are on. The early singing may also put the males at greater risk of predation. The researchers say we don’t understand the long-term effects. But they add a hopeful note—companies are developing new streetlamps with reduced light pollution, which could also help songbirds get their z’s.
鸣鸟会通过唱歌吸引伴侣，而唱歌的时间是随着阳光调整的。但是《当代生物学》杂志的研究表明，这种时间调配规律已经被打破了——罪魁祸首就是路灯。 德国马普鸟类学院的科学家研究了五种常见的林鸟。当它们“活在灯下”，而非像其他亲戚一样“深居林中”时，有四种雄鸟清晨唱歌的时间显著提前了。所研究的鸟类中，有一种雄鸟更易成功吸引偶外伴侣。和雄鸟繁殖后代的不是原配偶，而是这些偶外伴侣。 这听起来很棒，对吧？然而，研究人员认为不能那么快下定论。他们提道，由于灯光让雄鸟睡眠少了，所以它们身体更加虚弱。认为提早唱歌代表强壮有力的雌鸟会误被虚弱的雄鸟吸引——实际上这些雄鸟只是由于灯光失眠罢了。提早唱歌这种行为也增加了雄鸟被捕食的可能。 研究人员表示尚不明确这种现象的长远影响。但他们又说了一个振奋人心的消息：同伴们正在研发一种新型路灯，这种路灯不仅能减少光污染，还能帮助这些鸟儿们睡个安稳觉。