Experimental noise and light pollution alter prey detection in a nocturnal bird of prey

Urban expansion has led to ever-increasing noise and light pollution, which impair the audio-visual perception of wild animals and drive changes in key activities and behaviours. Nocturnal predators may be especially affected in detecting prey, with potentially dramatic consequences for their fitness. However, the combined effects of noise and light pollution on predator performance are still mostly unstudied. We experimentally exposed Tawny Owls (Strix aluco), nocturnal acoustic raptors, to traffic noise and artificial light. We provided both visual and acoustic prey cues to assess potential non-additive effects among multiple sensory stressors on the ability to detect prey. We found that, in control conditions, owls responded equally to both acoustic and visual prey cues. In contrast, noise and light individually decreased owls’ ability to locate acoustic, but not visual, prey cues. When owls were exposed to noise and light combined also visual detection worsened, but not beyond ..., , # Experimental noise and light pollution alter prey detection in a nocturnal bird of prey

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22sq](10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22sq)

## Description of the data and file structure

This study experimentally explored the impact of noise and light pollution on prey detection in tawny owls (*Strix aluco*) comparing the effects on different perceptual cues. In the absence of noise or light, owls equally relied on visual and acoustic detection. On the contrary, both noise and light singularly, considerably decreased owls’ ability to locate prey acoustically, while visual detection was mostly unaffected. Surprisingly, the presence of light and noise together seemingly enhanced acoustic detection and slightly worsened visual detection, suggesting an antagonistic interaction. These findings show that both anthropogenic noise and light affect the hunting behaviour of a nocturnal avian predator, but with a stronger effect on acoustic than visual detection, indicating that th...,