Li Zhongqiu, Courchamp Franck, Blumstein Daniel T
School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, 90095-1606, USA.
Sci Rep. 2016 Jan 5;6:18989. doi: 10.1038/srep18989.
Air pollution, especially haze pollution, is creating health issues for both humans and other animals. However, remarkably little is known about how animals behaviourally respond to air pollution. We used multiple linear regression to analyse 415 pigeon races in the North China Plain, an area with considerable air pollution, and found that while the proportion of pigeons successfully homed was not influenced by air pollution, pigeons homed faster when the air was especially polluted. Our results may be explained by an enhanced homing motivation and possibly an enriched olfactory environment that facilitates homing. Our study provides a unique example of animals' response to haze pollution; future studies are needed to identify proposed mechanisms underlying this effect.
空气污染，尤其是雾霾污染，正在给人类和其他动物带来健康问题。然而，对于动物如何对空气污染做出行为反应，人们知之甚少。我们使用多元线性回归分析了华北平原415场信鸽比赛，该地区空气污染严重，结果发现，虽然成功归巢的信鸽比例不受空气污染影响，但在空气污染特别严重时，信鸽归巢速度更快。我们的结果可能是由于归巢动机增强，也可能是嗅觉环境丰富从而有助于归巢。我们的研究提供了动物对雾霾污染反应的一个独特例子；未来需要进一步研究来确定这种效应背后的潜在机制。
