Given the melatonin discussions and increasing evidence of the many
useful functions of melatonin in bodies, the ancestral dawn and dusk
activity for ferrets, and the ever increasing work on negative health
impacts of too much light exposure for a wide range of mammals (including
ferrets and humans) I figured that these would be interest:
 
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060318/bob10.asp
(This one may not be available to all viewers until next week, but I
think it should be available now.  It affects most of us more than the
parks, but you get the point about degrees.)  [Site's down now so can't
tell.  So I cleared cookies for nothin'.  BIG]
 
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/lightscapes/
 
http://www.inquinamentoluminoso.it/worldatlas/pages/fig1.htm
(Here is a satellite view of how darkness levels vary at night around the
globe.  It is very intriguing that not all industrial world populated
areas are as bright as others.  For instance, although we are in an
area which is suburban and near preserves including a national one, the
region is close enough to NYC and highly populated enough that it is far
brighter than even the cities of Australia which I guess either means
that they are much less populated or they are doing something very right
in terms of light pollution, or both.)
 
In so much of the human range we have made night no longer night for all
species.
 
You can learn more by searching on such terms as:
scotobiology
and
melatonin
 
To see more on various functions of melatonin in bodies:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
 
One of our ferrets is currently not sleeping in darkness as much as he
should, but it is short term.  While I have had influenza Hilbert (who is
typically trustworthy for not getting himself into harm's way) has been
lying down on the floor about 5 feet away from me and guarding me very
often during the fevers.  Ferrets are so marvelous.  Steve and I did it
for him when he was ill and now he is doing it for me.
 
-- Sukie (not a vet)
Ferret Health List co-moderator
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives fan
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
replacing
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
International Ferret Congress advisor
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5190]