It’s a familiar scenario: tossing and turning in a sweltering room, sweat making the sheets stick to your skin, unable to find respite from the heat. Humans can often rely on air conditioners or fans to find some relief and get a good night’s sleep. But wild animals are not so fortunate.
Recent research on mammals in Europe reveals that extreme heat impairs their sleep significantly. For example, wild boars in the Czech Republic experienced a 17 percent reduction in sleep during hot summer days compared to cooler months, potentially leading to sleep deprivation.
Similarly, deer fawns in Ireland also faced shorter, lower-quality sleep during scorching days. These findings suggest that as climate change continues to raise temperatures, animals may find it increasingly difficult to rest in their natural habitats, which could weaken their immune systems and impact their chances of survival.
What scientists learn when they observe snoozing animals
Euan Mortlock, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, spends considerable time observing animals in their sleep. From large mammals to tiny fruit flies, Mortlock’s studies cover a wide range of species.
Far from just an inactive period, he finds sleep in animals to be an intriguing behavior full of complexities and insights.
Almost all animals sleep in some form, from deep-diving seals to brainless jellyfish. Seals can nap while diving as deep as 300 meters. Even jellyfish, lacking a brain, display sleep-like behavior by pulsing less often when resting.
Fruit flies are another example Mortlock examines in the lab. These tiny creatures exhibit adorable napping behaviors—tilting their heads slightly and dropping their antennae.
His research aims to uncover how fruit flies’ brains react to potential threats while they sleep, such as the scent of a predator. It’s a fascinating look into how even the simplest of creatures manage their sleep and survival instincts.
Sleep isn’t just a passive activity but a critical aspect of health for both humans and animals. It bolsters the immune system, enhances brain function, and offers various other health benefits.
Changes in the environment that disrupt sleep can significantly affect an animal’s survival and, in turn, the ecosystem they belong to.
Behavioral ecologist Daniel Blumstein from the University of California Los Angeles highlights the importance of sleep for recovery and memory consolidation. He emphasizes the need to document any factors that interfere with this essential process.
Keeping track of how different species manage their sleep provides valuable information on the impact of environmental changes on animal behaviors and overall ecology.
Hogs Don’t Like Heat
Hogs, like many animals, suffer considerably when temperatures rise. These creatures are particularly sensitive to heat because they cannot sweat, making it difficult for them to regulate their body temperature. Instead, pigs rely on other means to cool down, such as wallowing in mud and seeking shade.
Researchers have been studying the impacts of heat on various wild animals to understand how it affects their behavior and physiology.
For instance, a study involving wild boars in Europe utilized collars equipped with accelerometers to monitor their movements and sleep patterns. These devices were able to detect the specific postures boars adopt when they sleep, such as lying on their stomachs with their chins resting on the ground or on their sides with their heads touching the earth.
The study, which ran for several years starting in 2019, observed the boars under different weather conditions. It was discovered that higher temperatures resulted in shorter, more disrupted sleep. Conversely, cooler conditions, such as during snow or rain, led to better sleep quality since the animals naturally found ways to shield themselves under bushes or trees.
Similarly, a separate study involving baby fallow deer near Dublin found that hotter days led to a decrease in both the duration and quality of the fawns’ sleep.
This research, which also used accelerometers, gathered data over more than 300 days and reinforced the findings regarding the negative impact of heat on sleep.
The struggles of pigs in captivity are mirrored by other animals in the wild dealing with extreme heat. For example, fruit bats in South Africa were observed to sleep less on hot days as they invested more time in cooling strategies like licking their fur and spreading their wings.
Will Climate Change Turn Animals into Insomniacs?
Climate change is ushering in longer periods of extreme heat, with profound effects on wildlife.
Wild boars, for example, are significantly impacted by these temperature increases.
Studies have demonstrated that these animals suffer from reduced and impaired sleep due to the heat, which is crucial for their health and well-being.
Experts Highlight the Issue:
- Isabella Capellini from Queen’s University Belfast asserts that global warming and increasing extreme weather events are expected to negatively influence sleep and health in wild animals.
- Briana Abrahms of the University of Washington notes that sleep deprivation due to higher temperatures can worsen the stress animals face from other climate change effects.
Potential Impacts on Wild Boars:
- Increased illness rates due to compromised immune systems from lack of proper rest.
- Reduced care for young offspring, potentially leading to lower survival rates.
- Behavioral changes such as spending more time in water to cool off, or migrating to cooler areas — possibly increasing human-wildlife conflict.
Adaptation Strategies:
Wild boars and other animals are not entirely helpless in the face of rising temperatures. Adaptations could include:
- Seeking cooler habitats.
- Modifying their daily routines to avoid the hottest parts of the day.
- Increasing interaction with human environments, which can lead to new challenges like property damage and crop destruction.
Ecosystem Implications:
When animals migrate or alter their habits, they can unintentionally affect entire ecosystems.
This could disrupt food webs by introducing or removing species from a particular area.
Such changes may increase competition among remaining species, potentially reshaping local biodiversity.
Research Needs:
While the impact of extreme heat on sleep is an emerging area of study, much remains to be understood.
The intricacies of sleep patterns in wild environments are still largely mysterious.
Advances in research methods, though, promise to shed light on how climate change disrupts these vital rest periods.
This ongoing research highlights the need for continued exploration into how these sleep disruptions might further impact the health and survival of wildlife.
With a better understanding, strategies can be developed to mitigate these issues and support wildlife conservation efforts amidst the challenges posed by climate change.
Incorporating more cutting-edge technology and collaborating across disciplines will be crucial in uncovering the full extent of climate change’s impacts on animal behavior, especially sleep patterns, as the planet continues to warm.
