Abstract:
The growth of human activity and infrastructure has led to an unprecedented rise in the use of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) with demonstrable impacts on ecological communities and ecosystem services. However, there remains very little information on how ALAN interacts with or obscures light from celestial bodies, which provide vital orientating cues in a number of species. Furthermore, no studies to date have examined how climatic conditions such as cloud cover, known to influence the intensity of skyglow, interact with lunar irradiance and ALAN over the course of a lunar cycle to alter migratory abilities of species. Our night-time field study aimed to establish how lunar phase and climatic conditions (cloud cover) modulate the impact of ALAN on the abundance and migratory behaviour of Talitrus saltator, a key sandy beach detritivore which uses multiple light associated cues during nightly migrations. Our results showed that the number and size of individuals caught decreased significantly as ALAN intensity increased. Additionally, when exposed to ALAN more T. saltator were caught travelling parallel to the shoreline, indicating that the presence of ALAN is inhibiting their ability to navigate along their natural migration route, potentially impacting the distribution of the population. We found that lunar phase and cloud cover play a significant role in modifying the impact of ALAN, highlighting the importance of incorporating natural light cycles and climatic conditions when investigating ALAN impacts. Critically we demonstrate that light levels as low as 3 lx can have substantial effects on coastal invertebrate distributions. Our results provide the first evidence that ALAN impacted celestial migration can lead to changes to the distribution of a species.
摘要:
人类活动和基础设施的增长导致夜间人造光(ALAN)的使用空前增加,对生态社区和生态系统服务产生了明显的影响。然而,关于ALAN如何与天体的光相互作用或遮掩的信息很少,在许多物种中提供了重要的定向线索。此外,到目前为止,还没有研究研究过云层等气候条件,已知会影响天光的强度,在月球周期过程中与月球辐照度和ALAN相互作用,以改变物种的迁徙能力。我们的夜间野外研究旨在确定月相和气候条件(云层)如何调节ALAN对Talitrus盐藻的丰度和迁移行为的影响,一个关键的沙滩有害的人,在夜间迁徙时使用多个光线相关的线索。我们的结果表明,随着ALAN强度的增加,被捕获的个体的数量和大小显着减少。此外,当暴露于ALAN时,更多的T.Saltator被捕获平行于海岸线,表明ALAN的存在正在抑制他们沿着自然迁移路线导航的能力,可能影响人口分布。我们发现月相和云层在改变ALAN的影响中起着重要作用,强调在调查ALAN影响时纳入自然光周期和气候条件的重要性。至关重要的是,我们证明了低至3lx的光照水平会对沿海无脊椎动物的分布产生重大影响。我们的结果提供了第一个证据,表明ALAN影响的天体迁移可以导致物种分布的变化。