Artificial light at night prolongs juvenile development time in the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus

Abstract

A growing body of evidence exists to support a detrimental effect of the presence of artificial light at night (ALAN) on life-history and fitness traits. However, few studies simultaneously investigate multiple traits and the life stages at which changes manifest. We experimentally manipulated ALAN intensities, within those found in the natural environment, to explore the consequences for growth, survival, and reproductive success of the field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus. We reared crickets from egg to adult under a daily light-cycle consisting of 12 hr bright daylight (2,600 lx) followed by either 12 hr darkness (0 lx) or dim-light environments (1, 10, or 100 lx). We found egg hatch, adult survival, and reproductive measures were largely comparable for all treatments. However, juvenile development time (number of days from egg to adult) was on average 10 days (14%) longer and adults were also larger when crickets were exposed to any light at night (1, 10, or 100 lx). Our data demonstrate that chronic lifetime exposure to ALAN can modulate the timing of life-history events and may disrupt phenology to a similar extent as other abiotic factors.

Dim artificial light at night reduces the cellular immune response of the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus

“…To investigate the effect of ecologically relevant levels of ALAN on cricket immune function, we maintained experimental individuals from eggs to adults under comparable simulated daylight conditions (2600 lx; equivalent to a cloudy day) for 12 h followed by one of four ALAN treatments (0, 1, 10, or 100 lx) for a further 12 h (for further information regarding the rearing and treatment groups see, Botha et al ., ; Durrant et al ., ). To create the different ALAN treatments, we used retrofitted Westinghouse incubators (model number WRM4300WB‐R) set at a constant 28 °C and lit by cool‐white (6800 Kelvin during simulated day and 5900 Kelvin simulated night) LED strip lighting on the front panels (World of Thought; Melbourne, Australia).…”

“…It is a native inhabitant of grassland areas in Australia, but it is also present in urban environments and thus it is likely directly exposed to the presence of ALAN (Otte & Alexander, ). Previous research demonstrates that exposure to ecologically relevant levels of ALAN (1, 10, and 100 lx) consistently prolongs the juvenile developmental period, resulting in increased adult size (Durrant et al ., ) and affects some aspects of reproduction (Botha et al ., ). Teleogryllus commodus is a model species for invertebrate immune studies (Simmons et al ., ; Simmons et al ., ; Bailey et al ., ; Drayton & Jennions, ; Dowling & Simmons, ; Drayton et al ., ; McNamara et al ., ) and exposure during development to constant bright illumination, beyond that commonly found in natural environments, negatively affects multiple measures of immune function (Durrant et al ., ; Jones et al ., ).…”

The impact of artificial light at night on nocturnal insects: A review and synthesis

“…Even low‐level ALAN increases perceived day length (Kyba, Ruhtz, Fischer, & Hölker, ), and could thereby induce seasonal polyphenism in stink bugs (Niva & Takeda, ) and aphids (Hardie, ; Sanders et al, ), or alter the calling songs of katydids (Whitesell & Walker, ). Low‐level ALAN is known to accelerate development in a range of insect taxa (Kehoe, Cruse, Sanders, Gaston, & Veen, , van Geffen, Grunsven, Ruijven, Berendse, & Veenendaal, , but see Durrant, Botha, Green, & Jones, ), with varying effects on fitness.…”

Artificial Light Increases Local Predator Abundance, Predation Rates, and Herbivory

“…Beyond phototaxis, there are many other ways in which ALAN can directly affect arthropods, with examples of spatial and temporal disorientation, desensitization to light, and changes in pattern recognition ability (Owens and Lewis 2018). These direct effects of ALAN on arthropods can be specific on the basis of size (Heiling and Herberstein 1999), developmental stage (Durrant et al 2018), or sex (van Geffen et al 2014).…”