Mary Bates, PhD

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Dung Beetles and Light Pollution

Dung beetle on top of its dung ball. Bernard Dupont, via Wikimedia Commons.

Dung beetles use the light from the Milky Way to keep rolling their balls of dung in a straight line. What happens when this star compass is degraded by light pollution from nearby cities? And what does it mean for other nocturnal animals that look to the sky to navigate?

Read my latest Animal Minds blog post: Light Pollution Leads Dung Beetles Astray.