A compendium of photopigment peak sensitivities and visual spectral response curves of terrestrial wildlife to guide design of outdoor nighttime lighting

Longcore, Travis

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2023.09.002

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 55 publications

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“…The levels of artificial light at night at the Earth’s surface, or light pollution, are increasing at estimated rates from 2% to 9.6% a year (Kyba et al ., 2017, 2023), seeping into protected and remote habitats (Garrett, Donald and Gaston, 2019) and continuously eroding nightscapes in marine and terrestrial realms (Gaston and Sánchez de Miguel, 2022; Marangoni et al ., 2022). The pervasive impact is worsened by the recent widespread transition to LED technology, which is leading to increased emissions of short-wavelength (blue-rich) light (Sánchez de Miguel et al ., 2021, 2022), which produces larger effects on wildlife (Longcore et al ., 2018; Longcore, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do seabirds dream of artificial lights? Understanding light preferences of Procellariiformes

Atchoi,

Mitkus,

Machado

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Seabirds, and particularly fledglings of burrow-nesting species, are greatly impacted by light pollution. During their inaugural flights from colony to sea, fledglings become grounded after encountering artificial light. Such groundings, or fallout events, affect many fledglings each year. To mitigate this light-induced mortality, rescue programs have been implemented for decades in many locations worldwide. Despite the notoriety of fallouts, the contributing behavioral and biological factors remain mostly unknown. How do the mechanisms of light attraction and light avoidance interact or how do they manifest in different groups (e.g., age, personality, populations), or light pollution levels, remain open questions. We tested behavioral preferences of Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis fledglings, rescued after being grounded in urban areas, and of breeding adults, for contrasting light sources. Fledglings and adults were exposed to one of the three treatments in an experimental y-maze set-up: white light versus no-light, blue versus red light, and a control with no-light on each arm of the y-maze. Both age groups have shown preferences for the no-light arms and the red light arm. The preference for longer wavelengths and darker environments, along with slower responses by fledglings, suggest that close-range light pollution appears to cause disorientation in seabirds. Our study helps to clarify the behavioral components of fallouts and provides further evidence of the disruptive effects of nocturnal artificial light on sensitive species.

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