Anthropogenic changes to the nighttime environment

Abstract

How the relative impacts of anthropogenic pressures on the natural environment vary between different taxonomic groups, habitats, and geographic regions is increasingly well established. By contrast, the times of day at which those pressures are most forcefully exerted or have greatest influence are not well understood. The impact on the nighttime environment bears particular scrutiny, given that for practical reasons (e.g., researchers themselves belong to a diurnal species), most studies on the impacts of anthropogenic pressures are conducted during the daytime on organisms that are predominantly day active or in ways that do not differentiate between daytime and nighttime. In the present article, we synthesize the current state of knowledge of impacts of anthropogenic pressures on the nighttime environment, highlighting key findings and examples. The evidence available suggests that the nighttime environment is under intense stress across increasing areas of the world, especially from nighttime pollution, climate change, and overexploitation of resources.

A framework for untangling the consequences of artificial light at night on species interactions

“…As ALAN continues to increase, resulting in brighter and shorter nights [11,13], interactions among species are altered, resulting in cascading effects in ecosystems worldwide [19,60]. Our literature review demonstrates that there is considerable evidence that nocturnal illumination affects individuals within their biotic community.…”

“…Temporal niches can range from a few minutes, such as twilight in the tropics, to hours, such as day and night or full Moon and new Moon. These temporal niches are all defined by the presence/absence/duration of natural light and, hereafter, we will focus on light as the driving factor of temporal niches, with the caveat that other crucial environmental factors correlate across these temporal niches, such as temperature [19]. Also, we focus on temporal niches that occur within the 24 h cycle of Earth and do not include seasonal changes in photoperiod.…”

“…In addition, obligate nocturnal species that timed their activity during new Moon conditions may no longer experience their advantageous temporal niche or will have it drastically shortened in duration (figure 2). This is likely disadvantageous for prey species and mutualistic interactions that require the refugia of new Moon darkness; however, it is likely advantageous for predators, herbivores and parasites that depend on brighter conditions for their respective behaviours [19].…”

A model‐based hypothesis framework to define and estimate the diel niche via the ‘Diel.Niche’ R package

“…temperature, humidity) and ecosystem processes (e.g. pollination, dispersal) that affects nearly all species on Earth (Cox & Gaston, 2023a;Gaston, 2019;Gaston et al, 2023). Animal groups, including insects, amphibians, birds, fish, molluscs and mammals, are well known to be influenced by the changes associated with the light-dark cycle (Anderson & Wiens, 2017;Flury & Levri, 1999;Hut et al, 2012;Kronfeld-Schor & Dayan, 2003;Saunders, 2012).…”

Anthropogenic Determinants and Ecological Resilience of Aravalli: A Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest Ecosystem in India

“…In recent decades, the world has been witnessing an accelerating rate of environmental change, much of which can be attributed to human actions. In the context of tropical dry deciduous forests in India, human influences have been particularly pronounced, stemming from activities such as urban intrusions, logging, resource extraction (Gaston et al, 2023;Lande, 2018;Sponsel, 2013), and lack of efficient forest governance. As these forests face mounting pressures, understanding their responses and potential for recovery becomes paramount (Kopnina, 2017).…”