The moon’s influence on the activity of tropical forest mammals

Changes in lunar illumination alter the balance of risks and opportunities
for animals, influencing activity patterns and species interactions. We
examine if and how terrestrial mammals respond to the lunar cycle in some
of the darkest places: the floors of tropical forests. We analyzed
long-term camera trapping data on 86 mammal species from 17 protected
forests on three continents. Conservative categorization of activity
during the night revealed pronounced avoidance of moonlight (lunar phobia)
in 12 species, compared with pronounced attraction to moonlight (lunar
philia) in only 3 species. However, half of all species in our study
responded to lunar phases, either changing how nocturnal they were,
altering their overall level of activity, or both. Avoidance of full moon
was more common, exhibited by 30% of all species compared with 20% of
species that exhibited attraction. Nocturnal species, especially rodents,
were over-represented among species that avoided the full moon.
Artiodactyla was more prominent among species attracted to the full moon.
Our findings indicate that lunar phases influence animal behavior even
beneath the forest canopy. Such impacts may be exacerbated in degraded and
fragmented forests. Our study offers a baseline representing relatively
intact and well-protected contexts together with an intuitive approach for
detecting activity shifts in response to environmental change.