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Biological and Ecological Impacts of Artificial Light at Night: A...
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Biological and Ecological Impacts of Artificial Light at Night: A New Threat for Conservation

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecology and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 8142

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Kylie Robert

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology, Environment & Evolution, La Trobe University, Melbourne Victoria 3086, Australia
Interests: reproductive ecology; conservation biology; anthropogenic disturbance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over billions of years, organisms have evolved to respond to natural light cues to control or modulate behavior, activity, reproductive timing, and physiological function. The moon and stars are no longer the only major source of nighttime illumination. Artificial lighting has fundamentally changed the earth’s nighttime environment, with a wide range of biological and ecological effects on animals.

There is a timely need for an integrated approach to understanding the consequences of artificial light at night for conservation outcomes particularly given the worldwide increase and infiltration of light into protected areas and biodiversity hotspots. 

The scope of this Special Issue is wide, and we invite submissions that focus on wildlife irrespective of taxonomic group, habitat type or conservation status. Studies that focus on an across realm or landscape scale are particularly welcome, as are experimental studies focused on mitigation and conservation outcomes.

Dr. Kylie Robert
Guest Editor

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • anthropogenic disturbance
  • ALAN
  • artificial light at night
  • light pollution
  • urban ecology

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2324 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Artificial Night Lighting on Tail Regeneration and Prey Consumption in a Nocturnal Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) and on the Behavior of Fruit Fly Prey (Drosophila virilis)
by Sharon E. Wise, Alex Rohacek, Ashley E. Scanlon, Tiffany Cabrera and Bryant W. Buchanan
Animals 2022, 12(16), 2105; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12162105 - 17 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3165
Abstract
As human development continues to encroach into natural habitats, artificial light at night (ALAN) has increasingly become a concern for wildlife. Nocturnal animals are especially vulnerable to ALAN, as the physiology and behavior of nocturnal species have evolved under conditions associated with predictably [...] Read more.
As human development continues to encroach into natural habitats, artificial light at night (ALAN) has increasingly become a concern for wildlife. Nocturnal animals are especially vulnerable to ALAN, as the physiology and behavior of nocturnal species have evolved under conditions associated with predictably dark environments. Studies exposing amphibians to constant bright light provide evidence for changes to normal metabolism, growth, and behavior, but few of these studies have used treatments of dim ALAN comparable to that found in affected habitats. Eastern red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, use their tails for fat storage and communication, are capable of tail autotomy as an antipredator mechanism, and can regenerate the tail in its entirety. We examined the effect of different, ecologically-relevant intensities of ALAN on the rate of tail regeneration in adult P. cinereus. We hypothesized that ALAN would increase tail regeneration rates such that salamanders exposed to higher levels of light at night would regenerate tails faster than those exposed to lower light levels. In a controlled laboratory setting, we exposed salamanders (N = 76) in test chambers to nocturnal illuminations of 0.0001 lx (no ALAN, natural nocturnal illumination dark control), 0.01 lx (weak ALAN), 1 lx (moderate ALAN), or 100 lx (bright ALAN, equal to dim daytime and our day lighting treatment) for a period of 90 d immediately following tail autotomy. In addition, because these salamanders eat mostly live, moving prey, we investigated the impact of ALAN on the behavior of prey (Drosophila virilis) fed to the salamanders in our laboratory trials, which could alter feeding and regeneration rates in salamanders. We predicted that prey consumption would not be affected by ALAN and measured both prey consumption and prey behavior (activity) to examine the potential influence on regeneration. For tail regeneration, we found a non-monotonic response to ALAN, with salamanders exposed to nocturnal illuminations 0.1 lx and 100 lx regenerating tails significantly slower than salamanders in the 0.0001 lx or 1 lx treatments. Prey consumption did not differ among light treatments; however, fruit fly activity increased with increasing ALAN. These results suggest that ALAN influences regeneration rates, but the rate of regeneration is not dose-dependent and is not explained easily by prey consumption or movement of prey. We suggest that tail regeneration in these salamanders may involve a complex mechanism of altered gene expression and/or modulation of hormonal activity (corticosterone, melatonin, serotonin, and/or prolactin) at different intensities of nocturnal lighting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological and Ecological Impacts of Artificial Light at Night: A New Threat for Conservation)
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10 pages, 962 KiB  
Article
Artificial Light at Night Drives Earlier Singing in a Neotropical Bird
by Oscar Humberto Marín Gómez
Animals 2022, 12(8), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12081015 - 13 Apr 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3602
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise and artificial light at night (ALAN) can disrupt the morning singing routines of urban birds, however, its influence on tropical species remains poorly explored. Here, I assessed the association between light and noise pollution with the dawn chorus onset of the [...] Read more.
Anthropogenic noise and artificial light at night (ALAN) can disrupt the morning singing routines of urban birds, however, its influence on tropical species remains poorly explored. Here, I assessed the association between light and noise pollution with the dawn chorus onset of the Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) in a city in Colombia. I studied 32 sites comprised of different conditions of urban development based on built cover. I recorded the time of the first song of the Saffron Finch, the conspecific density and measured anthropogenic noise and ALAN using smartphone apps. The findings of this study show that Saffron Finches living in highly developed sites sang earlier at dawn than those occupying less urbanized sites. Unexpectedly, this timing difference was related to ALAN instead of anthropogenic noise, suggesting that light pollution could drive earlier dawn chorus in a tropical urban bird. Saffron Finches could take advantage of earlier singing for signaling territorial ownership among neighbors. Future studies need to assess the influence of ALAN on the dawn chorus timing of Neotropical urban birds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological and Ecological Impacts of Artificial Light at Night: A New Threat for Conservation)
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