Streetlight Effect

Biological Parallel

Sensory search bias pervades animal foraging. Bats echolocate in open spaces with strong acoustic returns while missing prey in dense vegetation. Dolphins hunt disproportionately in acoustically favorable environments regardless of prey density. Prairie dogs build sentinel posts with clear sightlines, systematically underdetecting threats in dense cover. Barn owls achieve laboratory-level strike accuracy only in quiet environments and degrade in noisy field conditions. Each species searches where its primary sensor works best — the biological streetlight.