Artificial skyglow disrupts celestial migration at night

Torres, Daniela; Tidau, Svenja; Jenkins, Stuart R.; Davies, Thomas W.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.002

Cited by 34 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Increasing global light pollution 1,2 threatens the night-time darkness to which most animals are adapted. Light pollution can have detrimental effects on behavior, [3][4][5] including by disrupting the journeys of migratory birds, 5,6 sand hoppers, [7][8][9] and moths. 10 This is particularly concerning, since many night-active species rely on compass information in the sky, including the moon, 11,12 the skylight polarization pattern, 13,14 and the stars, 15 to hold their course.…”

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confidence: 99%

Light pollution forces a change in dung beetle orientation behavior

et al. 2021

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confidence: 99%

Light pollution forces a change in dung beetle orientation behavior

et al. 2021

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“…Our results provide evidence that low sea surface artificial light irradiances caused by sky glow from cities can result in biologically important exposure levels in seafloor habitats. Cloud cover amplifies the propagation of sky glow, a known effect particularly in urban areas 26 which can disrupt migration undertaken in cloudy conditions in birds 27 and amphipod crustacean 28 and is more likely in temperature region/regions further away from the equator. Artificial sky glow extends the geographical influence of localised direct lighting to hundreds of kilometres 29 , suggesting that impacts on marine organisms may be widespread, and urgently need quantifying.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biologically important artificial light at night on the seafloor

Davies

McKee

Fishwick

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Accelerating coastal development is increasing the exposure of marine ecosystems to nighttime light pollution, but is anthropogenic light reaching the seafloor in sufficient quantities to have ecological impacts? Using a combination of mapping, and radiative transfer modelling utilising in situ measurements of optical seawater properties, we quantified artificial light exposure at the sea surface, beneath the sea surface, and at the sea floor of an urbanised temperate estuary bordered by an LED lit city. Up to 76% of the three-dimensional seafloor area was exposed to biologically important light pollution. Exposure to green wavelengths was highest, while exposure to red wavelengths was nominal. We conclude that light pollution from coastal cities is likely having deleterious impacts on seafloor ecosystems which provide vital ecosystem services. A comprehensive understanding of these impacts is urgently needed.

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“…27,28), indicate that skyglow could influence wild animals over large areas. Another recent study suggests that low skyglow-like ALAN levels disrupt the migration of Talitrus saltator (commonly known as sandhoppers), that normally use celestial light at night for orientation (29). Finally, the amplitude of diel vertical migration of zooplankton can be affected by skyglow, as shown in a seminal experiment conducted in small enclosures deployed in an urban lake (30).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Mimicking skyglow at ecosystem level in a large-scale lake enclosure facility

Jechow

Schreck

Kyba

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Light pollution is an environmental stressor of global extent that is growing exponentially in area and intensity. Artificial skyglow, a form of light pollution with large range, is hypothesized to have environmental impact at ecosystem level. However, testing the impact of skyglow at large scales and in a controlled fashion under in situ conditions has remained elusive so far. Here we present the first experimental setup to mimic skyglow at ecosystem level outdoors in an aquatic environment. Spatially diffuse and homogeneous surface illumination that is adjustable between 10 mlx and 10 lx, resembling rural to urban skyglow levels, was achieved with white light-emitting diodes at a large-scale lake enclosure facility. The illumination system was enabled by optical modeling with Monte-Carlo raytracing and validated by measurements. Our method can be adapted to other outdoor and indoor skyglow experiments, urgently needed to understand the impact of skyglow on ecosystems.

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Artificial skyglow disrupts celestial migration at night

Cited by 34 publications

References 10 publications

Light pollution forces a change in dung beetle orientation behavior

Light pollution forces a change in dung beetle orientation behavior

Biologically important artificial light at night on the seafloor

Mimicking skyglow at ecosystem level in a large-scale lake enclosure facility

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