Areas of ecological importance are exposed to risk from urban sky glow: Auckland, Aotearoa-New Zealand as a case study

McNaughton, Ellery J.; Gaston, Kevin J.; Beggs, Jacqueline R.; Jones, Darryl; Stanley, Margaret C.

doi:10.1007/s11252-021-01149-9

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Lunar face had RVI = 1 in the averaged spatial model, indicating that although the increase in sky brightness from urban lighting and cloud coverage overshadowed the natural lunar cycle, it was not masked completely. This is in line with previous findings from New Zealand, where urban lighting in Auckland, a much larger city than Wellington, increased sky brightness significantly but did not completely mask the lunar cycle (McNaughton et al, 2022). This is also shown in the temporal model, where lunar face on its own was not significant, but the interaction between lunar face and time of night was significant, with a stronger effect of lunar face on sky brightness late at night, when urban lighting intensity was decreased.…”

Section: Masking Of the Lunar Cyclesupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Expected frequency of unnatural brightness nearly doubled with every 20km moving towards Wellington city centre from the North. This aligns well with my previous findings, where location (as a proxy for urban lighting intensity) was a significant predictor of sky brightness (see Results, Chapter 2), as well as the findings from other research, where population density is strongly related to sky brightness (Cinzano, 1998;Pun & So, 2012;McNaughton et al, 2022).…”

Section: Variation In Short-term Patterns Of Sky Brightnesssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…In the previous chapter, I found that clouds had a significant impact on sky brightness at various distances from the center of Wellington, New Zealand, contributing to a partial masking of the lunar cycle which was stronger when urban lighting intensity was greater. This is in accordance with other research, showing that urban lighting can affect sky brightness at great distances from a city (Ściężor, 2020;McNaughton et al, 2022). Previous efforts to analyze the spatial distribution of skyglow by mapping and field observation have not accounted for the lunar cycle in time series analysis, and they have only analyzed a short time series (Chalkias et al, 2006;Elsahragty & Kim, 2015;Ściężor, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The natural of coastal light pollution and its relationship with morphological variation in a larval fish around Wellington, New Zealand

Sterup

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental variation is a critical factor which influences the health and structure of marine ecosystems, from the organismal to community levels. The lunar cycle is an important environmental cue for biological activity across many taxa, including reproduction, migration, and feeding. In coastal ecosystems, marine life may be threatened by changes to the nocturnal light regime caused by artificial light at night (ALAN). This research investigated the nocturnal light environment around the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, as well as potential implications for development of a pelagic larval fish. First, I quantified the relationships between urban lighting, cloud coverage, and the lunar cycle on sky brightness with field observations. Then, I used remote sensing techniques to analyse the spatial distribution of sky brightness around the Wellington region over a long time series. Finally, I assessed the correlation between morphology of pre-settlement larvae of common triplefin (Forsterygion lapillum) and the probable nocturnal light environment they experienced during development.I recorded nightly sky brightness at two locations and two times of night over one lunar month in order to model the relationships between urban lighting, cloud coverage, and the lunar phase as predictors of overall sky brightness. Modelling showed that proximity to urban lighting significantly increased sky brightness across spatial and temporal gradients. Cloud coverage further expanded the spatial impacts of urban lighting on sky brightness beyond the area that could be reached by direct sources of artificial light. The lunar cycle was only an important predictor of sky brightness late at night, when there was minimal input from urban lighting, suggesting that the lunar cycle was partially masked by skyglow.I used satellite imagery to create a time series of images showing nightly skyglow across the Wellington region and analysed the time series to identify spatial patterns in long- and short- term trends in unnatural sky brightness. I developed a remote sensing index based on previously observed relationships between urban lighting, cloud coverage, and the lunar phase, and found that it was an accurate representation of nightly sky brightness. Time series clustering revealed a spatial gradient of increased sky brightness with proximity to the city centre for both long- term and short-term trends. Analysis of short-term (inter-annual) trends showed that urbanized skies, up to 30km offshore, exhibited more variability, suggesting that the lunar cycle is being masked more in those areas. The spatial extent of increased brightness over offshore waters demonstrates the magnitude of potential effects of this environmental change for coastal marine life.Morphological analysis identified a gradient in body shape of larval F. lapillum associated with exposure to ALAN during development. Fish from a brighter environment had smaller caudal peduncles and heads, traits which may be associated with decreased fitness in pelagic larvae. Variation in the light environment was a better predictor of multivariate morphology than sampling region. Complex relationships between other environmental variables more closely linked to sampling region, such as wave exposure and water temperature, and nocturnal lighting could be affecting larval morphology through a number of direct (i.e., metabolic costs) and indirect (i.e., altered trophic interactions) mechanisms.

show abstract

Section: Masking Of the Lunar Cyclesupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Variation In Short-term Patterns Of Sky Brightnesssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 91%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The natural of coastal light pollution and its relationship with morphological variation in a larval fish around Wellington, New Zealand

Sterup

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Perceived safety risks and social fears can result in modification of the green space through lighting installation and the removal of dense vegetation and shrubs for clear sight lines (Sreetheran et al 2014, Evensen 2021). These societal demands on green spaces are likely to result in reduced biodiversity, impacting directly on vegetation through removal and modification (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design: CPTED; Cozens 2002), and indirectly on animals through the effects of habitat loss, increased noise and artificial light at night (Francis et al 2009, McNaughton et al 2022. However, Harris et al (2018) found that Melbourne residents ranked dense vegetation as highly preferred and suggest this may have been due to residents recognising the benefit of dense vegetation to wildlife, and that the vegetation in the photos was not close to a path.…”

Section: Pressures On Urban Green Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting people with place-specific nature in cities reduces unintentional harm

Stanley,

Galbraith

2024

Environ. Res.: Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is an increasing disconnect between people and nature as we become more urbanised. Intensification in cities often results in a reduction of natural areas, more homogenised and manicured green spaces, and loss of biota. Compared to people in rural areas, urban dwellers are less likely visit natural areas and recognise and value biota. Reconnecting people with nature in the city not only benefits human mental and physical wellbeing but can also have positive effects on how people value biodiversity and act on conservation issues. However, in some contexts, the push to reconnect people with nature may have unintended negative outcomes on biodiversity, particularly if place-specific nature is not used in urban greening. In the current biodiversity crisis, using vegetation and green space design that is not reflective of the environmental context of a city can further disconnect residents, particularly Indigenous people, from their local environment and species, and further entrench extinction of experience and loss of environmental values. This disconnect can result in residents applying wildlife gardening practices, such as bird feeding, that are not specific to place, and benefit introduced species over indigenous species. Furthermore, cities are gateways for invasive species, and using species in greening projects that are not locally sourced has already left cities and their surrounding regions with a large weed legacy. Using place-specific nature and green space in cities can be less resource intensive, highly beneficial for biodiversity and give residents a unique sense of place. Rather than simply adding ‘more nature’ in cities, the messaging should be more complex, emphasising the need for urban greening to be context specific to avoid negative impacts on biodiversity and ecological and cultural services.

show abstract

“…Light pollution leads to a significant degree of adverse effects on the biological behavior of plants and animals, including the social life and health of human beings. The effects of urban lighting will also extend to the adjacent ecological protection areas [5], leading to more severe light pollution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Illume Guard – Light Pollution Evaluation Research

Yu,

Xiao,

Yang

2023

Advances in Transdisciplinary Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As the problem of light pollution is becoming more and more serious, it is urgent to establish a general comprehensive index for light pollution risk evaluation. In this paper, to measure and mitigate the impact of light pollution in each region, we collected relevant data, and established A comprehensive light pollution risk evaluation model to study the risk level of light pollution in each area. light pollution is mainly divided into nighttime light over-brightness pollution, spectral light pollution and glare pollution that can be subjectively perceived by individuals. Correspondingly, four indicators were selected, which are the OBI, AER, AP and PLPI. Using the entropy weighting method, the four indicators are assigned weights and summed to form the LPI. Define the value of LPI in 0–0.1 as almost no pollution; in 0.1–1 as light pollution; 1–3 as moderate pollution; 3 and above as heavy pollution.

show abstract

Areas of ecological importance are exposed to risk from urban sky glow: Auckland, Aotearoa-New Zealand as a case study

Cited by 9 publications

References 46 publications

The natural of coastal light pollution and its relationship with morphological variation in a larval fish around Wellington, New Zealand

The natural of coastal light pollution and its relationship with morphological variation in a larval fish around Wellington, New Zealand

Connecting people with place-specific nature in cities reduces unintentional harm

Illume Guard – Light Pollution Evaluation Research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About