Departamento de Ecología & Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ciencia de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Chile.
Departamento de Ecología & Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ciencia de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Chile.
Environ Pollut. 2019 Jan;244:361-366. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.063. Epub 2018 Oct 16.
The increase of global light emissions in recent years has highlighted the need for urgent evaluation of their impacts on the behaviour, ecology and physiology of organisms. Numerous species exhibit daily cycles or strong scototaxic behaviours that could potentially be influenced if natural lighting conditions or cycles are disrupted. Artificial Light Pollution at Night (ALAN) stands for situations where artificial light alters natural light-dark cycles, as well as light intensities and wavelengths. ALAN is increasingly recognized as a potential threat to biodiversity, mainly because a growing number of studies are demonstrating its influence on animal behaviour, migration, reproduction and biological interactions. Most of these studies have focused on terrestrial organisms and ecosystems with studies on the effects of ALAN on marine ecosystems being more occasional. However, with the increasing human use and development of the coastal zone, organisms that inhabit shallow coastal or intertidal systems could be at increasing risk from ALAN. In this study we measured the levels of artificial light intensity in the field and used these levels to conduct experimental trials to determine the impact of ALAN on an intertidal fish. Specifically, we measured ALAN effects on physiological performance (oxygen consumption) and behaviour (activity patterns) of "Baunco" the rockfish Girella laevifrons, one of the most abundant and ecologically important intertidal fish in the Southeastern Pacific littoral. Our results indicated that individuals exposed to ALAN exhibited increased oxygen consumption and activity when compared with control animals. Moreover, those fish exposed to ALAN stopped displaying the natural (circatidal and circadian) activity cycles that were observed in control fish throughout the experiment. These changes in physiological function and behaviour could have serious implications for the long-term sustainability of fish populations and indirect impacts on intertidal communities in areas affected by ALAN.
近年来,全球光照的增加突显了对其影响生物行为、生态和生理学的紧急评估的必要性。许多物种表现出日常周期或强烈的趋光行为,如果自然光照条件或周期受到干扰,这些行为可能会受到影响。夜间人工光污染(ALAN)是指人工光改变自然光照-黑暗周期、光照强度和波长的情况。ALAN 越来越被认为是生物多样性的潜在威胁,主要是因为越来越多的研究表明它对动物行为、迁徙、繁殖和生物相互作用的影响。这些研究大多集中在陆地生物和生态系统上,而对海洋生态系统中 ALAN 影响的研究则较为偶然。然而,随着沿海地区人类利用和开发的增加,栖息在浅海或潮间带系统中的生物可能会面临越来越多的来自 ALAN 的风险。在这项研究中,我们测量了现场的人工光强度,并利用这些强度进行实验试验,以确定 ALAN 对潮间带鱼类的影响。具体来说,我们测量了 ALAN 对“Baunco”石斑鱼 Girella laevifrons 生理性能(耗氧量)和行为(活动模式)的影响,“Baunco”石斑鱼是东南太平洋沿岸最丰富和最重要的生态潮间带鱼类之一。我们的结果表明,与对照动物相比,暴露于 ALAN 下的个体表现出更高的耗氧量和活动水平。此外,与对照鱼相比,那些暴露于 ALAN 下的鱼停止了在整个实验中观察到的自然(潮汐和昼夜)活动周期。这些生理功能和行为的变化可能对鱼类种群的长期可持续性产生严重影响,并对受 ALAN 影响的地区的潮间带群落产生间接影响。