Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK.
Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2021 Jan;5(1):74-81. doi: 10.1038/s41559-020-01322-x. Epub 2020 Nov 2.
Natural light cycles are being eroded over large areas of the globe by the direct emissions and sky brightening that result from sources of artificial night-time light. This is predicted to affect wild organisms, particularly because of the central role that light regimes play in determining the timing of biological activity. Although many empirical studies have reported such effects, these have focused on particular species or local communities and have thus been unable to provide a general evaluation of the overall frequency and strength of these impacts. Using a new database of published studies, we show that exposure to artificial light at night induces strong responses for physiological measures, daily activity patterns and life history traits. We found particularly strong responses with regards to hormone levels, the onset of daily activity in diurnal species and life history traits, such as the number of offspring, predation, cognition and seafinding (in turtles). So far, few studies have focused on the impact of artificial light at night on ecosystem functions. The breadth and often strength of biological impacts we reveal highlight the need for outdoor artificial night-time lighting to be limited to the places and forms-such as timing, intensity and spectrum-where it is genuinely required by the people using it to minimize ecological impacts.
自然光照周期正在被全球大片地区的人为夜间光照的直接排放和天空增亮所破坏。这预计会影响野生生物，特别是因为光照制度在决定生物活动时间方面起着核心作用。尽管许多实证研究已经报告了这些影响，但这些研究都集中在特定的物种或局部群落上，因此无法对这些影响的总体频率和强度进行全面评估。我们利用一个新的已发表研究数据库，表明夜间人工光照会引起对生理测量、日常活动模式和生活史特征的强烈反应。我们发现，激素水平、昼行物种的日常活动开始时间以及生活史特征（如后代数量、捕食、认知和海龟的寻海能力）方面的反应特别强烈。到目前为止，很少有研究关注人工夜间光照对生态系统功能的影响。我们所揭示的生物影响的广度和强度常常强调需要将户外人工夜间照明限制在真正需要的地方和形式上，例如时间、强度和光谱，以最大限度地减少对生态的影响。
