The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality

This landmark global meta-analysis showed that mammals across the world, including many carnivores, increase their nocturnal activity in response to human disturbance, becoming more active at night even where humans pose no direct lethal threat. Synthesising data from dozens of species and studies, the authors found a consistent average shift toward night-time activity near people, revealing a widespread behavioural strategy for sharing space with humans across temporal rather than spatial dimensions. The work provided the quantitative backbone for understanding the nocturnality shifts repeatedly documented in urban felids such as leopards, pumas and bobcats, framing humans as a pervasive force restructuring the daily lives of wildlife.