When Do The Early-Early Birds Sing?

WHEN THE TOO-EARLY BIRD SINGS

WHAT IS THIS ARTICLE ABOUT?

This article is about how artificial light has impacted the time of year that some songbird species sing their mating calls. These birds get confused, and somehow disrupted their natural rhythm of mating calls.

THE STUDY

Ornithologists in Germany studied six different species of birds, and when they start to sing their mating calls. They studied these species in rural areas with less artificial light, and in urban areas with a lot of artificial light. They sing to the rising and setting sun, and artificial light confuses them.

RESULTS

The scientists found that four out of the six bird species studied have started their mating calls a considerable amount of time earlier in urban areas than rural ones.

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WHY THIS IS NEWSWORTHY

This is newsworthy because in the article it says,”The long-term effects of light pollution on birds’ ecosystems, and their survival, remains unclear.“ This could mean that birds’ mating systems would start earlier in the year, leaving vulnerable chicks in the cold. Many chicks might not survive, and cause the species to be endangered as less chicks survive.

HOW DOES THIS ARTICLE AFFECT THE WORLD

• Ecosystems could go off balance (overpopulation, underpopulation)
• People wouldn’t get to see birds as much
• People will realize that they are the cause of this

WHY I CHOSE TO WRITE ABOUT THIS

I chose to write about this topic because I saw this article on National Geographic, and I was interested in how the way that humans live can impact animals.

SOCIAL LENS

I CHOSE THIS LENS BECAUSE

• Society is made up of people, and the environment and animals surrounding people
• People who like to birdwatch couldn’t
• People who make bird feeders, habitats, or houses couldn’t
• People should realize how they could be hurting the environment

THANK YOU!