Global heating is pushing mountain goats into a more nocturnal lifestyle that could expose them to more predators, scientists have found. “We expected higher levels of nocturnal activity in Switzerland where wolves [one of the animal’s main predators] were not present, but we found the opposite. In conjunction with findings of similar studies, the research supports the hypothesis that increasing night-time activity may be a common strategy for mammals to deal with heat stress caused by global heating. “A shift towards nocturnal activity will also increase their overlap with night-time predators; that again has consequences on population dynamics”. Increased nocturnal activity among animals to deal with heat stress caused by global warming could also have consequences for how animals are recorded in the future.

Source: The Guardian January 17, 2024 11:26 UTC