When the wild things are: Defining mammalian diel activity and plasticity

Circadian rhythms are a mechanism by which species adapt to environmental variability and fundamental to understanding species behavior. However, we lack data and a standardized framework to accurately assess and compare temporal activity for species during rapid ecological change. Through a global network representing 38 countries, we leveraged 8.9 million mammalian observations to create a library of 14,587 standardized diel activity estimates for 445 species. We found that less than half the species' estimates were in agreement with diel classifications from the reference literature and that species commonly used more than one diel classification. Species diel activity was highly plastic when exposed to anthropogenic change. Furthermore, body size and distributional extent were strongly associated with whether a species is diurnal or nocturnal. Our findings provide essential knowledge of species behavior in an era of rapid global change and suggest the need for a new, quantitative framework that defines diel activity logically and consistently while capturing species plasticity.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science Advances
Published
2025-02-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ado3843
Citations
20
Primary Topic
Species Distribution and Climate Change
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
36.76
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article

When the wild things are: Defining mammalian diel activity and plasticity

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Science Advances
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When the wild things are: Defining mammalian diel activity and plasticity

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article en
20 citations

Abstract

Circadian rhythms are a mechanism by which species adapt to environmental variability and fundamental to understanding species behavior. However, we lack data and a standardized framework to accurately assess and compare temporal activity for species during rapid ecological change. Through a global network representing 38 countries, we leveraged 8.9 million mammalian observations to create a library of 14,587 standardized diel activity estimates for 445 species. We found that less than half the species' estimates were in agreement with diel classifications from the reference literature and that species commonly used more than one diel classification. Species diel activity was highly plastic when exposed to anthropogenic change. Furthermore, body size and distributional extent were strongly associated with whether a species is diurnal or nocturnal. Our findings provide essential knowledge of species behavior in an era of rapid global change and suggest the need for a new, quantitative framework that defines diel activity logically and consistently while capturing species plasticity.

Science AdvancesVol. 11(9)
Namibia University of Science and Technology (NA), Universidade Estadual do Ceará (BR), Florida State University (US), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR), Butler University (US), University of Insubria (IT), Southern Nazarene University (US), University of Iowa (US), Portland State University (US), Fauna and Flora International (GB), The Nature Conservancy (US), United States Geological Survey (US), The University of Sydney (AU), University of Minnesota (US), Hendrix College (US), Pennsylvania State University (US), US Forest Service (US), Vinh University (VN), Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (CA), WWF Colombia (CO), Zoological Society of London (GB), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (US), The Wildlife Society (US), Wildlife Conservation Society (US), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (US), Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (CA), Panthera Corporation (US), Koç University (TR), University of British Columbia (CA), University of Trieste (IT), University of Antwerp (BE), Deakin University (AU), Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (AR), University of Alberta (CA), University of New Hampshire (US), University of California, Los Angeles (US), Bangor University (GB), Universidad de Los Andes (CO), University of Georgia (US), Universidade Federal da Paraíba (BR), University of Rhode Island (US), Bridgewater State University (US), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), National University of Misiones (AR), Texas A&M University – Kingsville (US), University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy (US), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), University of Toronto (CA), University of Victoria (CA), University of Utah (US), Williams College (US), Universidad de Buenos Aires (AR), Universidade Federal do Ceará (BR), University of Massachusetts Amherst (US), Colorado Parks and Wildlife (US), Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (US), Cheetah Conservation Fund (NA), Lincoln Park Zoo (US), Tyson Foods (United States) (US), Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia da Paraíba (BR), Universidade de Fortaleza (BR), University of Da Nang (VN), University of Cundinamarca (CO), Yale University (US), University of Florida (US), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (BR), University of Oxford (GB), Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum (AR), WWF Tanzania (TZ), Cooperative Trials Group for Neuro-Oncology (AU), Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa Santa Casa (BR), Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve (RU), The Nature Conservancy (CO), Cleveland Metroparks (US), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization (TR), VNU Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (VN), Instituto Pró-Carnívoros (BR), Career Trek (CA), Wildlife Conservation Society United Kingdom (GB), Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (US), Zoos Victoria (AU), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (US), Itaipu Binacional (BR), Cat Tien National Park (VN), Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (US), Iranian Center for Quantum Technologies (IR), The Metabolomics Innovation Centre (CA), São Paulo Museum of Art (BR), Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (BR), Universidad de Los Andes (BO), Istituto De Angeli (Italy) (IT), Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (US), International Institute for Sustainability (BR), Instituto de Biología Subtropical (AR), Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RU), San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research (US), Conway School of Landscape Design (US), Instituto de Ecología (MX), Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (DE), Rocky Mountain Research (United States) (US), Arkansas Department of Agriculture (US), WWF-Indonesia (ID), Senegal River Basin Development Authority (SN), Appalachian State University (US), Arizona State University (US), Seattle University (US), Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (BR), California State University, Long Beach (US), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (TH), Lesley University (US), Trent University (CA), University of Maryland, College Park (US), University of Montana (US), Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VN), Occidental College (US), University of Maine (US), University of California, Davis (US), Virginia Tech (US), Vladivostok State University (RU), Texas A&M University (US), Colorado State University (US), Marist University (US), University of California, Berkeley (US), Mississippi State University (US), Nelson Mandela University (ZA)
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Species Distribution and Climate Change
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