Solar eclipse 2024: India will not see this celestial event. (representative picture)
When a rare total solar eclipse sweeps across North America on April 8, scientists will study how the phenomenon will affect plant and animal life on Earth. This solar eclipse is also known as the “Great North American Solar Eclipse” and can be seen in many countries including the United States, Mexico and Canada. The eclipse will travel across North America, creating a spectacle for observers. It only lasts a few minutes, but researchers say its impact on the natural world will be profound.
talking abc newsAngela Speck, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said as the light begins to dim, plants and animals will begin to respond before totality occurs. “Once you get to about 75, 80 percent shade, you’re not getting enough sunlight and the animals start to react,” she said.
Ms Speck said that about 20 minutes after totality, birds would begin to flock and some would become quiet. Farm animals, like cows and chickens, will walk back to the barn because they think it’s nighttime. Once totality occurs, behaviors will start to change again, the professor said.
Additionally, bees stop buzzing and return to the hive during totality, according to previous research. According to a paper published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America after the 2017 solar eclipse, bees appear disoriented when sunlight returns.
“It’s a shift that they probably didn’t expect, and I think it could be a chaotic time,” Brent Pease, an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University’s School of Forestry and Horticulture, told the outlet. “It’s hard to pinpoint those people. or what the animal is going through,” he added.
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Mr Peace said crepuscular nocturnal insects, such as crickets, would start making sounds as the light fades during the eclipse. Mr Pease explained there was also evidence that spiders would start maintaining webs, a typical nocturnal behavior for them to catch potential food at night.
A study published in 2020 found that Galapagos tortoises, a normally slow-moving and lethargic species, feel the urge to mate during a solar eclipse. According to another study conducted during the 2017 total solar eclipse, some plants shut down during the total eclipse.
Researchers will continue to study the effects of the total solar eclipse. Mr. Pease said it would be another 350 years before a total solar eclipse passed through southern Illinois, and he emphasized the importance of the research conducted on April 8.
