Ecology

November 13, 2024Pulsed artificial light at night alters moth flight behaviour – LED vehicle headlights impacting moth behavior.

November 12, 2024Exposure to constant artificial light alters honey bee sleep rhythms and disrupts sleep – Bees are adversely impacted by artificial light at night.

October 10, 2024Blue and white light pollution is disastrous for Cory’s shearwater fledglings – Birds are severely impacted by blue-rich light.

October 8, 2024Shedding light with harmonic radar: Unveiling the hidden impacts of streetlights on moth flight behavior – Impacts of streetlights on moths.

July 26, 2024How to reduce the negative impacts of artificial light at night on flying insects – Reduced light levels and homogeneity of coverage reduces adverse insect impacts.

January 20, 2024Research Note: Red light to mitigate light pollution: Is it possible to balance functionality and ecological impact? – Even red light at night can have adverse ecological impacts.

January 19, 2024Artificial light at night reduces earthworm activity but increases growth of invasive ragweed – Light pollution reduced earthworm surface activity by 76% and increased ragweed height growth by 104%.

January 11, 2024How Artificial Light Threatens Nature – Video documentary that details how artificial light is devastating the ecosystem.

January 4, 2024Why flying insects gather at artificial light – Insects turn their dorsum towards the lights which provides orientation. Artificial light causes the insects to steer in a circle until death.

October 30, 2023Light Pollution in Complex Ecological Systems – Light pollution is increasing at 10% per year and adversely impacting entire ecosystems.

September 21, 2023Phenotypic signatures of urbanization? Resident, but not migratory, songbird eye size varies with urban-associated light pollution levels – The eye size of urban birds is shrinking.

September 19, 2023Healing with the Night: Investigations into Experiences of Natural Darkness in Overnight Recollective Practices – The healing properties of natural night.

September 14, 2022Environmental risks from artificial nighttime lighting widespread and increasing across Europe – LEDs have increased light pollution and have increased the emissions of toxic blue wavelength light.

September 9, 2022The Dark Side of LEDs: Suppression of Melatonin by Blue Light – An article about the studies of researcher

May 20, 2022Light pollution can disorient monarch butterflies – Even a single light can interfere with a butterfly’s navigation system.

March 29, 2022Broad spectrum artificial light at night increases the conspicuousness of camouflaged prey – LED light leads to predator advantage.

April 27, 2022Oriented Migratory Flight at Night: Consequences of nighttime light pollution for monarch butterflies – ALAN interferes with monarch butterfly migration.

January 27, 2022The growing threat of light pollution to ground-based observatories – Impacts of skyglow on dark skies.

2022Artificial Light at Night: State of the Science 2022 – IDA report. Discusses how LED light is increasing light pollution. Falsely claims that LEDs are energy efficient.

August, 2021Street lighting has detrimental impacts on local insect populations – This study shows that LEDs are killing insects even faster than High Pressure Sodium.

August, 2021First Estimation of Global Trends in Nocturnal Power Emissions Reveals Acceleration of Light Pollution – Light pollution continues to grow and LED blue wavelength light is making it worse.

April, 2021Narrow Spectrum Artificial Light Silences Fireflies – Artificial light, especially bright amber, suppresses courtship. “we should focus on minimizing the time that lights are on and how bright they are.” – News Story

March, 2021Light Pollution Drives Increased Risk of West Nile Virus – Even low levels of artificial light at night increase the risk of transmission of the virus.

March, 2021Superoxide is Promoted by Sucrose and Affects Amplitude of Circadian Rhythms in the Evening – Both light and sugars affect the biological clock of plants. – News Story

March 10, 2020Artificial Lighting Impacts to Salmon in WRIA 8 Briefing Memo – Artificial light is impacting the survival of juvenile salmon.

January, 2020Australian Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife This detailed document describes best lighting practices.

2020“use lamps with the lowest CCT, melanopic response, or M/P value possible to achieve the goals of the lighting project.” – Illuminating Engineering Society – On the Use of Summary Metrics of Light Spectral Characteristics to Assess Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Wildlife

2020“ALAN reduces habitat suitability” – El Sevier – Effects of artificial light at night on the foraging behavior of an endangered nocturnal mammal

July 30, 2018Waters under Artificial Lights: Does Light Pollution Matter for Aquatic Primary Producers? – ALAN and LED light negatively impacts periphyton.

July 30, 2018Waters under Artificial Lights: Does Light Pollution Matter for Aquatic Primary Producers? – ALAN negatively impacts periphyton.

2018Anthropogenic lighting drastically alters nocturnal environments, threatening a wide range of species” – Colorado State University – Anthropogenic light disrupts natural light cycles in critical conservation areas

2018“we advocate warm color temperature white light as nighttime illumination” – Health and Human Services USA – Light at night disrupts nocturnal rest and elevates glucocorticoids at cool color temperatures

2018bombarded with numerous novel stimuli in their environment that could lead to grave consequences.” – Journal of Ecology – Connecting spectral radiometry of anthropogenic light sources to the visual ecology of organisms

2018“if the tendency to light more when light is cheaper can be overcome” – Luger Research – Hazard or Hope? LEDs and Wildlife

2017“When the installation was illuminated, birds aggregated in high densities, decreased flight speeds, followed circular flight paths, and vocalized frequently” – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – High-intensity urban light installation dramatically alters nocturnal bird migration

2013“alters detection of day and night” – Exeter University – Measuring biological light pollution and uncovering its ecological effects

2013“the significant impact that even low levels of nighttime light pollution can have” – Cambridge University – The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution: a mechanistic appraisal

November, 2017Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent – This study uses satellite data to show that light pollution has increased due to the use of LED lights.

2017“Managers should avoid lights that have ultraviolet or blue light (shorter wavelengths)” – National Park Service – Artificial Night Lighting and Protected Lands

April, 2015Artificial Light at Night and the Predator-Prey Dynamics of Juvenile Atlantic Salmon – Even tiny amounts of artificial light affect salmon.

2015“The most immediate threat from anthropogenic noise and light is the loss of species” – Trends in Ecology & Evolution – A framework to assess evolutionary responses to anthropogenic light and sound

May 29, 2014Potential Biological and Ecological Effects of Flickering Artificial Light – Explains how the visual system of different creatures have a rate at which they capture images. Electric light interferes with this system, causing perceived flicker.

2014“exacerbate existing domestic, e.g., midge swarms and industrial infestations of sanitary and phytosanitary pests” – Ecological Society of America – LED lighting increases the ecological impact of light pollution irrespective of color temperature

2012“Technological innovations and changes in lighting strategies should consider benefits for reductions in greenhouse gases and energy consumption in parallel with their potential ecological impacts” – Global Change Biology – Conserving energy at a cost to biodiversity? Impacts of LED lighting on bats

2009“Light pollution can have significant conservation consequences for a threatened bat species” – Current Biology – Street Lighting Disturbs Commuting Bats