Stone Emma Louise, Wakefield Andrew, Harris Stephen, Jones Gareth
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2015 May 5;370(1667). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0127.
Artificial light at night is a major feature of anthropogenic global change and is increasingly recognized as affecting biodiversity, often negatively. On a global scale, newer technology white lights are replacing orange sodium lights to reduce energy waste. In 2009, Cornwall County Council (UK) commenced replacement of existing low-pressure sodium (LPS) high intensity discharge (HID) street lights with new Phillips CosmoPolis white ceramic metal halide street lights to reduce energy wastage. This changeover provided a unique collaborative opportunity to implement a before-after-control-impact field experiment to investigate the ecological effects of newly installed broad spectrum light technologies. Activity of the bat species Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus and Nyctalus/Eptesicus spp. was significantly higher at metal halide than LPS lights, as found in other studies of bat activity at old technology (i.e. mercury vapour) white light types. No significant difference was found in feeding attempts per bat pass between light types, though more passes overall were recorded at metal halide lights. Species-specific attraction of bats to the metal halide lights could have cascading effects at lower trophic levels. We highlight the need for further research on possible ecosystem-level effects of light technologies before they are installed on a wide scale.
夜间人造光是人为全球变化的一个主要特征，并且越来越被认为会对生物多样性产生影响，而且往往是负面影响。在全球范围内，更新的技术白光正在取代橙色钠灯以减少能源浪费。2009年，英国康沃尔郡议会开始用新的飞利浦宇宙城邦白色陶瓷金属卤化物路灯替换现有的低压钠（LPS）高强度放电（HID）路灯，以减少能源浪费。这种转换提供了一个独特的合作机会，可实施一项前后对照影响实地实验，以研究新安装的广谱照明技术的生态效应。正如在其他关于旧技术（即汞蒸气）白光类型下蝙蝠活动的研究中所发现的那样，伏翼、姬伏翼和夜蝠属/棕蝠属蝙蝠物种在金属卤化物灯下的活动明显高于在钠灯下的活动。不同光照类型下，每只蝙蝠飞过期间的捕食尝试次数没有显著差异，不过在金属卤化物灯下记录到的飞过总次数更多。蝙蝠对金属卤化物灯的物种特异性吸引可能会在较低营养级产生连锁效应。我们强调，在广泛安装照明技术之前，有必要进一步研究其可能对生态系统产生的影响。
