Archives: Robert Thomson

The FitzPatrick Report: How blackouts can illuminate bird behaviour

We teamed up with an expert in
ALAN, Davide Dominoni from the
University of Glasgow, to highlight
this idea. We propose that the scheduled
blackouts in South Africa offer
an opportunity to study the effects of
artificial light. Unlike random power
outages, South Africa’s load-shedding
is planned, creating predictable periods
when large urban areas go dark. This
regularity allows for controlled studies
comparing wildlife behaviour in light
and dark conditions within the same
landscape.