Skyglow extends into the world's Key Biodiversity Areas

Abstract

The proportion of the Earth's surface that experiences a naturally dark environment at night is rapidly declining with the introduction of artificial light. Biological impacts of this change have been documented from genes to ecosystems, and for a wide diversity of environments and organisms. The likely severity of these impacts depends heavily on the relationship between the distribution of artificial night‐time lighting and biodiversity. Here, we carry out a global assessment of the overlap between areas of conservation priority and the most recent atlas of artificial skyglow. We show that of the world's Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), less than a third have completely pristine night‐time skies, about a half lie entirely under artificially bright skies and only about a fifth contain no area in which night‐time skies are not polluted to the zenith. The extent of light pollution of KBAs varies by region, affecting the greatest proportion of KBAs in Europe and the Middle East. Statistical modelling revealed associations between light pollution within KBAs and associated levels of both gross domestic product and human population density. This suggests that these patterns will worsen with continued economic development and growth in the human population.

Red Sea corals under Artificial Light Pollution at Night (ALAN) undergo oxidative stress and photosynthetic impairment

“…Humans have been migrating to coastal regions and increasing population sizes on a global scale at a rate faster than the growth of the general population (Nicholls, ). This unequal distribution of population growth has led to the vulnerability of coastal habitats to increasing levels of light pollution (POL; Bird, Branch, & Miller, ; Garrett, Donald, & Gaston, ). It is most probable that POL is changing the structure and function of marine ecosystems in several key ways, which are in need of further study (Davies, Duffy, Bennie, & Gaston, ).…”

Corrigendum for “Skyglow extends into the world’s Key Biodiversity Areas”

“…There was also a significant interaction between population density and GDP (Table ; Fig. ).All the necessary corrections resulting from the reanalysis have been made to Garrett et al () before its publication in print.…”

“…All the necessary corrections resulting from the reanalysis have been made to Garrett et al () before its publication in print.…”

Working with Inadequate Tools: Legislative Shortcomings in Protection against Ecological Effects of Artificial Light at Night

“…Guette et al discussed that despite the establishment of buffer zones around nature reserves, core areas of the protected sites are increasingly affected by ALAN [285]. In Europe, special protected natural habitats are increasingly threatened by skyglow and the sources for the disturbance are often unknown [16].…”

“…Especially in Europe, key biodiversity areas are threatened by the impact of ALAN, which are specially protected by European environmental law. Eighty-one percent of these areas experience brightening of the nightscapes due to skyglow [16].…”