The Diversity of Photosensitivity and its Implications for Light Pollution

Alaasam, Valentina J.; Kernbach, Meredith E; Miller, Colleen; Ferguson, Stephen M.

doi:10.1093/icb/icab156

Cited by 19 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 155 publications

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“…Not all insect taxa display the same peak spectral sensitivities and lighting recommendations are often not a one-size-fits-all solution (Alaasam et al, 2021), yet we report consistently greater attraction to higher colour temperature blue-white LEDs for taxa that showed a lighting preference. This was across different insect orders, caddisfly families and caddisfly species, and across an urban and a national park river.…”

Section: Con Clus Ionsmentioning

confidence: 61%

The colour temperature and placement of LED lighting near rivers can reduce attraction of flying adult caddisflies

Schofield,

Hogsden,

Greenwood

et al. 2023

Freshwater Biology

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Artificial light at night (ALAN), which can confuse and distract insects, has been implicated as a contributor of their decline worldwide. Changes in artificial light technology has led to a widespread conversion of outdoor lighting to light‐emitting diode (LED) bulbs, which are more energy efficient than older high‐intensity discharge or fluorescent lamps. However, many outdoor LED lights emit a proportion of short‐wavelength blue light, to which insects are commonly sensitive. The potential to reduce flying insect attraction to outdoor lights by using LEDs that emit different amounts of blue light, or by placing lights further from insect sources has not been well‐studied, particularly for freshwater insects. We tested whether four blue‐white LEDs that varied in their emittance of blue light intensity (3000, 4000, 5650, 6500 Kelvin [K] colour temperature) differed in their attractiveness to flying insects, particularly adult caddisflies (Trichoptera) over distances up to 100 m from a river. LEDs were deployed at a lit urban river and a predominantly unimpacted braided river in Canterbury, New Zealand. We expected a greater abundance and species richness of adult caddisflies to be attracted to LEDs that emit more blue light (cooler white LEDs [6500, 5650 K]) than those that emit less (warmer colour temperatures [3000 K, 4000 K]). We also expected the abundance and species richness of adult caddisflies in light traps to decline rapidly with increasing distance from the river, regardless of colour temperature. Moths, flies and a total of 26 caddisfly species were collected from both rivers. Significantly more caddisflies were attracted to higher than lower colour temperature LEDs. For example, a more than 1.6‐fold number of caddisflies were caught by the bluer‐white 6500 K LEDs than the warmer‐white 3000 K LEDs. This trend was consistent across most caddisfly taxa and both rivers. The number of caddisflies attracted to LEDs significantly declined with increasing distance from the river edge for the two most abundant caddisfly families and the four most abundant species; 65% of all caddisflies were caught by 20 m from the river margin. In order to reduce the attraction of caddisflies to outdoor lights such as streetlights, our study highlights the importance of considering a low LED colour temperature (3000 K or 4000 K) or those that emit less blue light and the benefit of positioning lights further back from waterways, where possible. Our results indicate that plans for urban outdoor lighting should consider the ecological implications of different colour temperature LEDs and their spatial position as project design considerations.

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Section: Con Clus Ionsmentioning

confidence: 61%

The colour temperature and placement of LED lighting near rivers can reduce attraction of flying adult caddisflies

Schofield,

Hogsden,

Greenwood

et al. 2023

Freshwater Biology

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“…We did not measure insect behaviour at our site. However, as many insects lack a receptor for red light (Alaasam et al, 2021; van der Kooi et al, 2021), we would not expect attraction to the light in this treatment. Such lack of attraction may have resulted in less distraction and more time spent feeding.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Artificial light at night affects plant–herbivore interactions

Cieraad

Strange

Flink

et al. 2022

Journal of Applied Ecology

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1. Artificial light at night (ALAN) affects species' physiology and behaviour, and the interactions between species. Despite the importance of plants as primary producers, it remains poorly understood whether and how effects of ALAN on plants cascade through the food web.2. We assess the extent to which ALAN of different spectra result in plant-mediated insect herbivory damage. In a 6-month field experiment, we exposed plants of differing palatability to three colours of ALAN and a dark control, and assessed plant traits (growth rate, leaf size, foliar density and thickness) and insect herbivory (represented by insect damage as loss of foliage to leaf-chewing insects, and gall abundance by phloem-feeding herbivory).3. We found evidence for plant trait-mediated ALAN effects on herbivory for oak, but not for blueberry. In oak, ALAN of different colours changed the direction of relationships of insect damage with relative growth rate and with leaf thickness. Moreover, we found that the effects of ALAN on herbivory damage differed markedly between forest types within the same locale, particularly in the red light treatment. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our results provide evidence that continuous nighttime light, as provided by street lighting around the world, affects food web interactions. The nature of these effects differed by species and appeared to depend on forest type and the light spectrum employed, thus underlining the context dependency of ALAN in different ecosystems and environmental settings. These findings highlight the complexity of using spectral manipulation as a mitigation measure, and the need for further consideration of ALAN in environmental management and planning, to limit the exposure and impact of cascading effects of artificial light at night on food webs and communities.

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“…It is largely a phenomenon of urban and industrial areas, but road and rail stretches between urban areas could also be illuminated, as also small towns and villages. With the invention of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and the economical and longevity benefits of LEDs, illumination is shifting from the more monochromatic yellow lighting to the broader spectrum white-light LEDs, which have a more pronounced blue spectral coverage and higher intensity (Elvidge et al, 2010;Longcore et al, 2018;Alaasam et al, 2021). Coolwhite LEDs with a spectral maximum at 450 nm are optimised for humans since its spectrum confers maximum suppression of melatonin and thereby induces maximum alertness in humans (Mills et al, 2007).…”

Section: Artificial Light At Night (Alan)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Artificial Light at Night on Nocturnal and Diurnal Insect Biology and Diversity

Borges

2022

ije

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Artificial light at night (ALAN) is leading to light pollution on local and global scales. Reflected and scattered light contributes to skyglow over cities and large industrial complexes. ALAN is one of the key drivers of insect declines in the Anthropocene era. This is the likely consequence of perturbations in circadian clocks by extension and even abolition of the dark phase of the diel cycle, which affect reproduction and foraging. Bioluminescent insects that use light as sexual signals are severely affected by ALAN and may be under sexual selection for even brighter signals. The phototactic response of insects to light is also causing mortality due to increased predation and altered activity. Mitigatory measures are urgently needed to stem insect declines and to ‘protect’ the role of insects in community ecology. New satellite technology for ALAN measurement is urgently required. There are many research gaps, such as the effect of ALAN on diurnal insects and on interaction networks, that need to be filled.

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The Diversity of Photosensitivity and its Implications for Light Pollution

Cited by 19 publications

References 155 publications

The colour temperature and placement of LED lighting near rivers can reduce attraction of flying adult caddisflies

The colour temperature and placement of LED lighting near rivers can reduce attraction of flying adult caddisflies

Artificial light at night affects plant–herbivore interactions

Impacts of Artificial Light at Night on Nocturnal and Diurnal Insect Biology and Diversity

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