Feature Ecosystems

Moonlight shapes how some animals move, grow and even sing

Behavior can be tied to the lunar phases

GUIDING LIGHT  Moonlight affects animals in many different ways. For wildebeests (one shown), which are vulnerable to nocturnal attacks by lions, moonlight can be an indicator of how dangerous the coming evening will be. 

Mario Moreno/Alamy Stock Photo

By Erin Wayman

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Ecosystems

  1. Asian giant hornet
    Life

    A new map shows where Asian giant hornets could thrive in the U.S.

    By Curtis Segarra
  2. Arctic winter under northern lights
    Ecosystems

    Trapped under ice, light-loving algae grow in the dark Arctic winter

    By Jonathan Lambert
  3. San Francisco Bay bridge smoky skyline
    Environment

    What we know and don’t know about wildfire smoke’s health risks

    By Aimee Cunningham
  4. map of Earth's protected areas
    Ecosystems

    Protecting half the planet could help solve climate change and save species

    By Jonathan Lambert
  5. a female hyena and her cub
    Animals

    Female hyenas kill off cubs in their own clans

    By Carolyn Wilke
  6. Mussels in a yellow bag
    Ecosystems

    To save Appalachia’s endangered mussels, scientists hatched a bold plan

    By Stephen Ornes
  7. Langsdorffia hypogaea male and female
    Plants

    This parasitic plant consists of just flashy flowers and creepy suckers

    By Susan Milius
  8. microscope image of ancient microbes
    Oceans

    These ancient seafloor microbes woke up after over 100 million years

    By Carolyn Gramling

From the Nature Index

Paid Content