By Monica Macoubrie, Wildlife Education Specialist
It’s that time of year again — the dreaded time change. We groggily push our clocks forward an hour, grumble about losing sleep, and wonder why we still do this. While most Americans have to deal with the shift — except those in Hawaii, Arizona and U.S. territories — it’s safe to say that most of us aren’t fans. A poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that seven out of 10 people would rather keep the time the same year-round.
Changing the clocks messes with our internal rhythms — our sleep, appetite and even our mood takes a hit. As a parent, I see this firsthand. My daughter doesn’t care what the clock says — she just knows that bedtime feels wrong, and waking up in the morning feels even worse. But as humans, we can at least understand what’s happening, even if we don’t like it. That got me thinking. How does this abrupt shift affect wildlife?
Photoperiod
When we “spring forward” and the mornings get darker, we may have to lean more on artificial lights or feel more tired if we need to be at work during these darker hours. For wild animals that don’t have to be anywhere at a particular time, this entirely human concept of daylight saving time is hardly noticeable.
Ultimately, wildlife doesn’t care about clocks — they care about the hours of daylight, known as the photoperiod, which guides everything from when flowers bloom to when birds migrate and even when animals give birth. Daylight saving time is nothing more than humans trying to outsmart Mother Nature by maximizing our daylight hours for productivity.
The more important consideration is when seasonal shifts in daylight and temperature impact human activity. This longer stretch of daylight, coupled with our changing schedules, can have bigger consequences for urban wildlife. Wildlife adjusts their activities to avoid humans during the day, but when human schedules start spilling into the darker hours — whether gradually due to seasonal changes or suddenly with daylight saving time — conflicts are bound to happen.
Artificial Light
While photoperiod naturally guides wildlife behavior, artificial light can disrupt these rhythms, creating new challenges for animals that rely on darkness to hunt, migrate or rest.
Artificial light is exactly what it sounds like — light that doesn’t come from the sun, moon or stars. Streetlights, headlights, porch lights, billboards and even the glow from our phones all contribute to what’s called light pollution. And while we may not think twice about flipping on a light switch, for wildlife, artificial light can be a real problem.
Many animals rely on natural darkness to hunt, hide from predators, navigate or even know when to sleep. Birds, for example, use the stars to migrate, but bright city lights can disorient them, leading to collisions with buildings or sending them off course. Nocturnal creatures, such as bats and moths, struggle when artificial light floods their habitat. Moths get trapped in an endless spiral around lights instead of pollinating plants, and bats that depend on the darkness to hunt insects may find their food sources thrown off balance. Even amphibians, like Boreal chorus frogs, need dark, quiet nights to call for mates, but too much artificial light can disrupt their breeding cycles.
The bottom line: Light pollution doesn’t just steal our view of the night sky, it also messes with the rhythms of wildlife in ways we’re only beginning to understand. This can be especially problematic during daylight saving time, whether in the spring or fall.
However, these challenges can be avoided. There are plenty of things we can do to reduce the negative impact on wildlife.
What Can We Do?
We might not be able to stop the practice of daylight saving time, but we can be more mindful of how our sudden schedule changes affect wildlife. Here are a few ways to help:
- Watch for wildlife on the roads. With nocturnal animals still being rather active during our morning commutes around rush hour, slow down and stay alert, especially near wooded areas or open fields.
- Dim outdoor lights at night. Help nocturnal creatures by reducing unnecessary light pollution, which can interfere with their natural behaviors. This could be as simple as shutting the lights off, or putting them on a timer.
- Be mindful of noise in the evenings. If you live near wetlands or woodlands, keeping your activity quiet at night can help wildlife during critical breeding seasons.
Daylight saving time might be an annoying inconvenience for us, but for wildlife, it’s yet another human-driven change they have to navigate. So, as we groggily adjust to our new schedules, let’s take a moment to consider how the changes in our activity can affect the creatures that share our world.