Defense Simon Hirschhofer
Multi-Scale Radar Demonstration of Coastal Light Pollution Effects on Bird Migration - Simon Hirschhofer has successfully defended his PhD thesis. The four-year project was a collaboration between the GIS group and the Bird Migration Unit of the Swiss Ornithological Institute and investigated how artificial light at night influences the behaviour of nocturnally migrating birds along the Croatian coast.
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These coastlines are remarkable not only for their scenic beauty, but also for their strict regulations on light pollution. Croatia has implemented some of the most rigorous lighting policies in Europe, meaning that many small coastal towns remain relatively dim within the surrounding nightscape.
Despite these low levels of illumination, the thesis provides the first evidence that even dim artificial lighting can influence migrating birds crossing the Adriatic Sea in spring. The results show that migrating birds redistribute substantially from darker areas towards brighter coastal regions, highlighting the sensitivity of migration behaviour to even subtle changes in nighttime light conditions.
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