Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), 12587 Berlin and 16775 Stechlin, Germany.
Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2023 Dec 18;378(1892):20220360. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0360. Epub 2023 Oct 30.
Light pollution caused by artificial light at night (ALAN) is increasingly recognized as a major driver of global environmental change. Since emissions are rapidly growing in an urbanizing world and half of the human population lives close to a freshwater shoreline, rivers and lakes are ever more exposed to light pollution worldwide. However, although light conditions are critical to aquatic species, and freshwaters are biodiversity hotspots and vital to human well-being, only a small fraction of studies conducted on ALAN focus on these ecosystems. The effects of light pollution on freshwaters are broad and concern all levels of biodiversity. Experiments have demonstrated diverse behavioural and physiological responses of species, even at low light levels. Prominent examples are skyglow effects on diel vertical migration of zooplankton and the suppression of melatonin production in fish. However, responses vary widely among taxa, suggesting consequences for species distribution patterns, potential to create novel communities across ecosystem boundaries, and cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. Understanding, predicting and alleviating the ecological impacts of light pollution on freshwaters requires a solid consideration of the physical properties of light propagating in water and a multitude of biological responses. This knowledge is urgently needed to develop innovative lighting concepts, mitigation strategies and specifically targeted measures. This article is part of the theme issue 'Light pollution in complex ecological systems'.
光污染是由夜间人工照明（ALAN）引起的，它正日益被视为全球环境变化的主要驱动因素之一。由于在城市化的世界中排放量迅速增长，而且有一半的人口居住在淡水海岸线附近，因此全世界的河流和湖泊越来越受到光污染的影响。然而，尽管光线条件对水生生物至关重要，而且淡水是生物多样性的热点，对人类福祉至关重要，但在对 ALAN 进行的研究中，只有一小部分关注这些生态系统。光污染对淡水的影响广泛而深远，涉及到生物多样性的各个层面。实验表明，即使在低光照水平下，物种也会表现出多种多样的行为和生理反应。例如，天空辉光对浮游动物昼夜垂直迁移的影响，以及鱼类褪黑激素产生的抑制。然而，不同分类群之间的反应差异很大，这表明对物种分布模式、跨越生态系统边界创造新群落的潜力，以及对生态系统功能的级联效应都有影响。要了解、预测和减轻光污染对淡水的生态影响，需要充分考虑光在水中传播的物理特性和多种生物反应。为了开发创新的照明概念、缓解策略和有针对性的措施，迫切需要这些知识。本文是“复杂生态系统中的光污染”主题专刊的一部分。
