Coastal light pollution and marine turtles: assessing the magnitude of the problem

Kamrowski, Ruth L.; Limpus, Col; Moloney, James; Hamann, Mark

doi:10.3354/esr00462

Cited by 87 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…The fastest increase in light occurred for flatbacks in east Australia, an increase which was significantly faster than for any other MU in Australia and thus warrants particular conservation attention from managers, particularly in light of the proposed industrial development of the Queensland coast (UNESCO, ; Grech et al ., ). A previous study found that light pollution exposure at turtle nesting areas along the northern coast of Australia may be lower than at higher latitudes on both the west and east coasts (Kamrowski et al ., ). In contrast, our findings suggest that at this broad scale, levels of artificial light are generally increasing faster at northern nesting areas (particularly in northern Queensland), and as such proactive management strategies should be considered in these areas to prevent light levels reaching potentially disruptive levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At first glance, this appears positive, however, Kamrowski et al . () found that exposure to light pollution was significantly higher at nesting areas in the Northwest Shelf of WA and southeast Queensland than elsewhere in Australia. The fact that light levels in these regions have not changed significantly for most species over time indicates that these nesting turtles have likely been exposed to high levels of light pollution since at least 1993, and although the level of exposure to light pollution has not increased, neither has it decreased.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temporal changes in artificial light exposure of marine turtle nesting areas

Kamrowski

Limpus

Jones

et al. 2014

Global Change Biology

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Artificial light at night poses a significant threat to multiple taxa across the globe. In coastal regions, artificial lighting close to marine turtle nesting beaches is disruptive to their breeding success. Prioritizing effective management of light pollution requires an understanding of how the light exposure of nesting areas changes over time in response to changing temporal and spatial distributions of coastal development. We analyzed multitemporal, satellite night-light data, in combination with linear mixed model analysis, to determine broadscale changes in artificial light exposure at Australian marine turtle nesting areas between 1993 and 2010. We found seven marine turtle management units (MU), from five species, have experienced significant increases in light exposure over time, with flatback turtles nesting in east Australia experiencing the fastest increases. The remaining 12 MUs showed no significant change in light exposure. Unchanging MUs included those previously identified as having high exposure to light pollution (located in western Australia and southern Queensland), indicating that turtles in these areas have been potentially exposed to high light levels since at least the early nineties. At a finer geographic scale (within-MU), nine MUs contained nesting areas with significant increases in light exposure. These nesting areas predominantly occurred close to heavily industrialized coastal areas, thus emphasizing the importance of rigorous light management in industry. Within all MUs, nesting areas existed where light levels were extremely low and/or had not significantly increased since 1993. With continued coastal development, nesting females may shift to these darker/unchanging 'buffer' areas in the future. This is valuable information that informs our understanding of the capacity and resilience of marine turtles faced with coastal development: an understanding that is essential for effective marine turtle conservation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal changes in artificial light exposure of marine turtle nesting areas

Kamrowski

Limpus

Jones

et al. 2014

Global Change Biology

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“…Artificial illumination on nesting beaches alters both the nest site selection by females, 54 hatchling behaviour and also has a direct impact on hatchling survival (Witherington, 1996; 55 Kamrowski et al, 2012). After emergence, sea turtle hatchlings crawl rapidly from the nest 56 towards the sea to avoid predation (Salmon and Wyneken, 1987; Santidrián Tomillo et al, 57 2010).…”

Section: Introduction 49mentioning

confidence: 99%

Leatherback hatchling sea-finding in response to artificial lighting: Interaction between wavelength and moonlight

Rivas

Tomillo

Diéguez-Uribeondo

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

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21Over the last decades, growing human populations have led to the rising occupation of 22 coastal areas over the globe causing light pollution. For this reason, it is important to assess 23 how this impact threatens endangered wildlife. Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) 24 face many threats of anthropogenic origin including light pollution on nesting beaches. 25However, little is known about the specific effects. In this study we studied the effect of 26 different light wavelengths (orange, red, blue, green, yellow and white lights) on hatchling 27 orientation under the presence and absence of moonlight by analyzing: (i) the mean angle of 28 orientation, (ii) crawling duration, and (iii) track patterns. 29Hatchling orientation towards the sea was always better under controlled conditions. 30In the absence of moonlight, leatherback hatchlings were phototaxically attracted to the 31 experimental focus of light (misoriented) for the colours blue, green, yellow and white lights. 32Orange and red lights caused a lower misorientation than other colors, and orange lights 33 produced the lowest disrupted orientation (disorientation). On nights when moonlight was 34 present, hatchlings were misorientated under blue and white artificial lights. Crawling 35 duration was low for misoriented hatchlings and high for the disoriented individuals. Our 36 conclusion to this is that hatchlings can detect and be impacted by a wide range of the light 37 spectrum and we recommend avoiding the presence of artificial lights on nesting beaches. 38Additionally, actions to control and mitigate artificial lighting are especially important during 39 dark nights when moonlight is absent.

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“…Our finding of no significant correlation between turtle nest sites and artificial illuminance at the local scale (<100 m) was unexpected, as several studies have identified associations between artificial night light and nesting behaviour of turtles, generally postulating broad hypotheses that turtles may prefer darker beaches, or beach sections, for oviposition (Witherington, 1992; Kamrowski et al, 2012; Mazor et al, 2013). It is theoretically possible that the low influence of illuminance on small-scale nest selection found by us could be the result of nesting that occurred mostly during moonlit conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…To identify whether nests and reference sites were exposed to artificial light sources, light measurements were taken with a hand-held night sky brightness photometer (Unihedron Sky Quality Meter-L.) This instrument responds to light with wavelengths in the range of 320–1050 nm, which covers the range marine turtles are known to respond to (i.e., 350–700 nm; Kamrowski et al, 2012). Light was measured as magnitudes per square arcsecond (mag/arcsec 2 ) and converted to milicandelea per square meter (mcd/m 2 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine turtles are not fussy nesters: a novel test of small-scale nest site selection using structure from motion beach terrain information

Kelly

Leon

Gilby

et al. 2017

PeerJ

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BackgroundNest selection is widely regarded as a key process determining the fitness of individuals and viability of animal populations. For marine turtles that nest on beaches, this is particularly pivotal as the nesting environment can significantly control reproductive success.The aim of this study was to identify the environmental attributes of beaches (i.e., morphology, vegetation, urbanisation) that may be associated with successful oviposition in green and loggerhead turtle nests.MethodsWe quantified the proximity of turtle nests (and surrounding beach locations) to urban areas, measured their exposure to artificial light, and used ultra-high resolution (cm-scale) digital surface models derived from Structure-from-Motion (SfM) algorithms, to characterise geomorphic and vegetation features of beaches on the Sunshine Coast, eastern Australia.ResultsAt small spatial scales (i.e., <100 m), we found no evidence that turtles selected nest sites based on a particular suite of environmental attributes (i.e., the attributes of nest sites were not consistently different from those of surrounding beach locations). Nest sites were, however, typically characterised by occurring close to vegetation, on parts of the shore where the beach- and dune-face was concave and not highly rugged, and in areas with moderate exposure to artificial light.ConclusionThis study used a novel empirical approach to identify the attributes of turtle nest sites from a broader ‘envelope’ of environmental nest traits, and is the first step towards optimizing conservation actions to mitigate, at the local scale, present and emerging human impacts on turtle nesting beaches.

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Coastal light pollution and marine turtles: assessing the magnitude of the problem

Cited by 87 publications

References 48 publications

Temporal changes in artificial light exposure of marine turtle nesting areas

Temporal changes in artificial light exposure of marine turtle nesting areas

Leatherback hatchling sea-finding in response to artificial lighting: Interaction between wavelength and moonlight

Marine turtles are not fussy nesters: a novel test of small-scale nest site selection using structure from motion beach terrain information

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