Article
Ecology
Airam Rodriguez, Paula Maiten Orozco-Valor, Jose Hernan Sarasola
Summary: The study demonstrates that artificial light at night alters the availability of invertebrates and affects the food sources and space use of urban burrowing owls. In suburban environments with low levels of urbanization, streetlights increase foraging efficiency for owls.
Article
Biology
Kylee Grenis, Cesar Nufio, Gina M. Wimp, Shannon M. Murphy
Summary: This study investigates the effects of artificial light at night (ALAN) on moth communities and finds that increased sky glow decreases moth abundance and species richness, and shifts community composition. The contrasting effects of local light sources and sky glow on moth community composition are important to understand the overall impacts of light pollution on biodiversity declines.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Qingli Hao, Lixiong Wang, Gang Liu, Zhuofei Ren, Yuting Wu, Zejun Yu, Juan Yu
Summary: The rapid growth and expansion of artificial light at night (ALAN) pose threats to ecological safety worldwide, leading to the shift of urban light pollution prevention and control towards urban artificial light ecology construction. This study analyzed a large number of articles on ALAN, light pollution, and ecological light pollution to understand the development process, thematic evolution, and ecological risks. The results indicate that international research has made progress in understanding the ecological risk factors of light pollution, quantification and prediction using multiple technical means, and translating research outcomes into prevention and control practices. In contrast, Chinese scholars primarily focus on human-centered needs in evaluating and implementing prevention and control measures. Therefore, a more integrated demand-side framework of light ecology construction is proposed, considering multiple risk receptors. The concept of landsense light ecology is suggested based on the One Health concept, aiming to provide a reference and inspiration for future urban artificial light ecology construction.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Svenja Tidau, Tim Smyth, David McKee, Jorg Wiedenmann, Cecilia D'Angelo, David Wilcockson, Amy Ellison, Andrew J. Grimmer, Stuart R. Jenkins, Stephen Widdicombe, Ana M. Queiros, Elizabeth Talbot, Adam Wright, Thomas W. Davies
Summary: The increasing artificial light at night has impacts across taxa, biological ranks, and spatial scales. Marine ALAN research is rapidly growing, facing challenges due to technological limitations, complexities of coastal and marine ecosystems, and interdisciplinary nature. Expertise from various fields is essential for effective development of the field, with opportunities for improving understanding of this stressor and advancing marine ecology and biology.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Megan Trethewy, Mariana Mayer-Pinto, Katherine A. Dafforn
Summary: Urban development has altered natural light regimes in coastal cities, with consequences for ecological communities. This study investigated how changes to light regimes affect grazers in Sydney Harbour. The abundance of grazers was negatively related to increasing light during the daytime on rocky shores and seawalls, but increased with night-time artificial light levels on seawalls.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Review
Biology
Salvador Bara, Fabio Falchi
Summary: Light pollution is a phenomenon caused by an increased concentration of light particles in the night-time environment due to human activity, resulting in the alteration of natural levels of darkness. It is profoundly changing night-time environmental conditions across the planet and its effects on life are being revealed by extensive research.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Christina Diamantopoulou, Eleni Christoforou, Davide M. Dominoni, Eirini Kaiserli, Jakub Czyzewski, Nosrat Mirzai, Sofie Spatharis
Summary: The study found that in marine environments, green and red ALAN have effects on marine primary producers, with green ALAN potentially increasing chlorophyll production and abundance in green microalgae, and red and green ALAN leading to changes in biomass and diversity of diatom assemblages.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Chad L. Seewagen, Julia Nadeau-Gneckow, Amanda M. Adams
Summary: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a global pollutant that disrupts circadian rhythmicity and physiological processes in animals. The sensitivity to ALAN varies among species, and there is a lack of information on its spatial extent of influence on bats. This study found that ALAN has a disturbance radius of at least 75 m for little brown bats and up to 25 m for big brown bats.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jakub Z. Kosicki
Summary: Artificial light at night has been shown to impact the classification, functionality, and phylogenetic levels of bird communities. It decreases taxonomic species richness, shows a unimodal relationship with functional diversity, and exerts the highest pressure on phylogenetic diversity. Predictive models demonstrate that artificial night light improves model performance.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Frank A. La Sorte, Kyle G. Horton
Summary: The study found that the seasonal species richness of nocturnally migrating passerines in urban areas is influenced by artificial light at night and urban landcover. Greater tree canopy cover is beneficial for increasing species richness during spring and autumn migration, while more impervious surface is beneficial for increasing species richness during winter. Additionally, reducing artificial light at night during migration seasons is important for the nocturnal migrants.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joshua S. Willems, Jennifer N. Phillips, Clinton D. Francis
Summary: Light and noise pollution from human activities have profound impacts on animal behavior, reproduction, and physiology, especially in conjunction. The study showed that alterations to the sensory environment can change the richness and composition of communities, which may depend on the scale of observation. Additionally, artificial light and moonlight have a strong influence on community turnover, while increases in ambient noise and moonlight can reduce foraging activity.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Justine Mushobozi Katabaro, Yonghong Yan, Tao Hu, Quan Yu, Xiang Cheng
Summary: This paper explores the impact of nighttime artificial light on the ecosystem of urban parks and focuses on night cities with increased artificial lighting and diverse species of animals and plants, such as urban forest parks and urban green spaces. The results indicate that nighttime artificial light has a dual effect on the ecosystem, negatively impacting ecosystem function but positively affecting green spaces with limited natural light. The paper discusses approaches to reduce the interference of artificial lighting on ecosystems and optimize the positive effects of artificial light.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Biology
Svenja Tidau, Fraser T. Brough, Luis Gimenez, Stuart R. Jenkins, Thomas W. Davies
Summary: This study investigated the impacts of artificial light at night (ALAN) on the larval performance of mussels and barnacles. The results showed that high-intensity ALAN reduced larval survival. However, the effects on development and growth were small and varied between species, time-points, and parentage. These findings emphasize the adverse impacts of ALAN on the early life stages of ecosystem engineering species.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tomasz Sciezor
Summary: Due to the coronavirus pandemic and tourism decrease, street lighting was turned off at night in Cracow, allowing for unique observations. Research found that turning off street lighting reduces the surface brightness of the night sky, especially in densely populated areas.
Article
Soil Science
Xiao-Min Li, Shun Li, Fu-Yi Huang, Zhe Wang, Zhao-Yang Zhang, Song-Can Chen, Yong-Guan Zhu
Summary: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an important disturbance to urban ecosystems, and its potential effects on urban soil microbial community structure and functions are unclear. This study investigated the impact of nocturnal light on the microbiomes in urban turf soils using sequencing and qPCR techniques. The results showed that ALAN significantly influenced the structures of bacterial, fungal, and protist communities, as well as the functional profiles involved in nutrients cycling and urban health.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Julia Marion Schmack, Gavin Lear, Carmen Astudillo-Garcia, Stephane Boyer, Darren F. Ward, Jacqueline R. Beggs
Summary: This study quantified the spatial distribution and dietary composition of four invasive wasp species, revealing clear resource partitioning among them that facilitates coexistence. These species predominantly consume native and endemic invertebrates, with a combined ecological impact on the recipient community.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Emily K. Flower, Georgette Leah Burns, Darryl N. Jones
Summary: Tourists at elephant tourism venues can influence the activities offered by positive and negative word-of-mouth, preferring venues with higher welfare standards. Tourists may impact the industry by demanding better living conditions for elephants and only supporting ETVs with higher welfare standards. Satisfaction and recommendations from tourists are crucial for the continual success of venues.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
C. M. Lees, A. Rutschmann, A. W. Santure, J. R. Beggs
Summary: This study investigates the impact of species conservation planning on threatened species. Results show that a science-based, participatory approach to planning can reverse the decline of threatened species within 15 years and prevent species extinction.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ellery J. McNaughton, Kevin J. Gaston, Jacqueline R. Beggs, Darryl N. Jones, Margaret C. Stanley
Summary: Light pollution is a global issue with significant impacts on urban ecosystems. Research in Auckland shows that sky glow partially masks the lunar cycle and poses risks to nearby marine and terrestrial areas of ecological importance. Brighter night skies are associated with proximity to city centers, commercial and industrial land use, and densities of buildings and streetlights.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Carly E. Campbell, Darryl N. Jones, Monica Awasthy, Alienor L. M. Chauvenet
Summary: Despite the growing recognition of the importance of conserving biodiversity in urban areas, there is a bias in urban bird research towards certain species and topics, leading to gaps in understanding urban ornithology. Studies with a strong conservation link are uncommon, and most research tends to focus on broad suites of species rather than specific groups or species. Understanding these biases is crucial for effectively conserving urban bird biodiversity not only in Australia but also on other continents.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Carly E. Campbell, Darryl N. Jones, Monica Awasthy, J. Guy Castley, Alienor L. M. Chauvenet
Summary: Urban environments are crucial for biodiversity conservation, with birds capable of surviving and even thriving in cities. However, urbanization poses a threat to bird populations, with introduced species decreasing and native urban exploiters increasing in prevalence in Australian urban areas. Monitoring and conservation efforts are important for the persistence of bird species in urban environments.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Review
Environmental Studies
Christopher Johnson, Darryl Jones, Tony Matthews, Matthew Burke
Summary: Linear transport infrastructure has important impacts on wildlife and landscape processes, particularly on birdlife. Factors such as habitat quality, species-specific traits, traffic noise, and infrastructure are identified to influence birds near roads. While early research focused on traffic noise as the main selective force, recent studies suggest that habitat quality and infrastructure play a bigger role. However, existing literature has limitations in data collection, confounding variable management, inclusion of vehicle-free environments, experimental timeframes, and methodologies susceptible to bias.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART D-TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Felicia Kueh Tai, David E. Pattemore, Mateusz Jochym, Jacqueline R. Beggs, Grant L. Northcott, Ashley N. Mortensen
Summary: Honey bees are commonly used for pesticide risk assessments, but this approach may underestimate risk to non-target species. A study found that a solitary ground-nesting bee, L. paahaumaa, was more sensitive to imidacloprid compared to honey bees, highlighting the need for more comparative toxicity studies.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Christopher D. D. Johnson, Tony Matthews, Matthew Burke, Darryl Jones
Summary: Fauna-sensitive road design can mitigate the negative impacts of roads on wildlife, but its adoption in transportation planning is still limited. More focus on policy learnings rather than just technological solutions is needed to promote biodiversity considerations in road design.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jacqueline Doremus, Liqing Li, Darryl Jones
Summary: The Covid-19 lockdowns led to a surge in bird feeding interest around the world, as shown by Google search data. 115 countries experienced an increase in search interest for bird feeding. The study found a significant relationship between interest in bird feeding and greater species richness, indicating the importance for biodiversity.
Article
Zoology
C. Baker, A. El Hanandeh, D. Jones
Summary: This study compared the use of different designs of canopy-bridge and assessed the effectiveness of exclusion fencing via camera monitoring and roadkill records. The results showed that canopy-bridges were effectively used by arboreal species, and the exclusion fencing significantly reduced roadkill rates.
AUSTRALIAN MAMMALOGY
(2023)
Article
Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism
Emily K. Flower, Georgette Leah Burns, Darryl N. Jones, James McBroom
Summary: The study found that participant age is the key factor in determining the type of elephant tourism venue tourists are likely to visit, while home location and welfare standards at venues have a significant impact on post-visit attitudes. Data suggests that elephant welfare is an important factor for some tourists, highlighting the need to increase public awareness of issues within elephant tourism venues to promote positive attitude and behavior change.
ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH EMPIRICAL INSIGHTS
(2021)