Research Department, Phillip Island Nature Parks, Cowes, Victoria, Australia.
Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Seville, Spain.
J Exp Zool A Ecol Integr Physiol. 2018 Oct;329(8-9):457-464. doi: 10.1002/jez.2155. Epub 2018 Mar 30.
Wildlife watching is an emerging ecotourism activity around the world. In Australia and New Zealand, night viewing of little penguins attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. As penguins start coming ashore after sunset, artificial lighting is essential to allow visitors to view them in the dark. This alteration of the nightscape warrants investigation for any potential effects of artificial lighting on penguin behavior. We experimentally tested how penguins respond to different light wavelengths (colors) and intensities to examine effects on the colony attendance behavior at two sites on Phillip Island, Australia. At one site, nocturnal artificial illumination has been used for penguin viewing for decades, whereas at the other site, the only light is from the natural night sky. Light intensity did not affect colony attendance behaviors of penguins at the artificially lit site, probably due to penguin habituation to lights. At the not previously lit site, penguins preferred lit paths over dark paths to reach their nests. Thus, artificial light might enhance penguin vision at night and consequently it might reduce predation risk and energetic costs of locomotion through obstacle and path detection. Although penguins are faithful to their path, they can be drawn to artificial lights at small spatial scale, so light pollution could attract penguins to undesirable lit areas. When artificial lighting is required, we recommend keeping lighting as dim and time-restricted as possible to mitigate any negative effects on the behavior of penguins and their natural habitat.
野生动物观赏是世界各地新兴的生态旅游活动。在澳大利亚和新西兰，观赏小企鹅的夜间观赏活动每年吸引数十万游客。当企鹅在日落后上岸时，人工照明是必不可少的，以便游客在黑暗中观赏它们。这种夜景的改变需要调查人工照明对企鹅行为的任何潜在影响。我们在澳大利亚菲利普岛的两个地点进行了实验，测试了企鹅对不同波长（颜色）和强度的光的反应，以研究其对群体栖息行为的影响。在一个地点，夜间人工照明已经用于企鹅观赏数十年，而在另一个地点，唯一的光是来自自然夜空的光。在人工照明的地点，光强度并没有影响企鹅的群体栖息行为，这可能是由于企鹅对灯光的习惯化。在以前没有照明的地点，企鹅更喜欢有光的路径而不是黑暗的路径来到达它们的巢穴。因此，人工光可能会增强企鹅在夜间的视力，从而降低捕食风险和通过障碍物和路径检测的运动能量成本。尽管企鹅忠于自己的路径，但它们可能会被小范围的人工灯光吸引，因此光污染可能会吸引企鹅进入不理想的照明区域。当需要人工照明时，我们建议将照明保持在尽可能暗和时间限制的状态，以减轻对企鹅及其自然栖息地行为的任何负面影响。
