Dimovski Alicia M, Fanson Kerry V, Edwards Amy M, Robert Kylie A
Department of Animal, Plant and Soil Sciences, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine & Environment, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia.
Research Centre for Future Landscapes, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine & Environment, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia.
Conserv Physiol. 2025 Feb 26;13(1):coae092. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coae092. eCollection 2025.
Natural light-dark cycles are responsible for synchronizing an animal's circadian clock with environmental conditions. Consequently, the endocrine system is vulnerable to changes in the external light environment, particularly short-wavelength blue light. Artificial light at night drastically changes the night-time environment by masking natural light cycles and disrupting well-established biological rhythms. The introduction of blue-rich lighting, such as white light-emitting diodes (LEDs), may increase the biological effects of light at night on wildlife. However, flexibility in the spectral composition of LED lighting presents options for wildlife-sensitive lighting, such as long-wavelength amber LEDs. Here we examine the effect of light spectra on circadian physiology in a nocturnal marsupial. Specifically, we investigate the effect of short-wavelength white (standard urban lighting) and long-wavelength amber LEDs (proposed wildlife-sensitive lighting) on circadian hormones and cell-mediated immunity in the Krefft's glider (). Melatonin and glucocorticoid secretion were disrupted following exposure to both short-wavelength white and long-wavelength amber LEDs. Both LEDs suppressed melatonin, whilst glucocorticoid secretion was suppressed under amber LEDs and increased under white LEDs. Despite this disturbance we did not detect any effect of light treatment on cell-mediated immune response. Our findings offer a novel contribution to understanding the physiological impacts of light at night on wildlife. We also provide evidence that long-wavelength amber LEDs can disrupt physiology and are not a wildlife-sensitive lighting option for all species.
自然的昼夜循环负责使动物的生物钟与环境条件同步。因此，内分泌系统容易受到外部光照环境变化的影响，尤其是短波长蓝光。夜间的人造光通过掩盖自然光照周期和扰乱已确立的生物节律，极大地改变了夜间环境。富含蓝光的照明设备的引入，如白色发光二极管（LED），可能会增强夜间光照对野生动物的生物学效应。然而，LED照明光谱组成的灵活性为对野生动物敏感的照明提供了选择，例如长波长琥珀色LED。在此，我们研究了光谱对一种夜行有袋动物昼夜生理的影响。具体而言，我们调查了短波长白色（标准城市照明）和长波长琥珀色LED（提议的对野生动物敏感的照明）对克雷夫特滑翔袋貂（）昼夜激素和细胞介导免疫的影响。暴露于短波长白色和长波长琥珀色LED后，褪黑素和糖皮质激素的分泌均受到干扰。两种LED都抑制了褪黑素，而琥珀色LED下糖皮质激素分泌受到抑制，白色LED下则增加。尽管有这种干扰，我们未检测到光照处理对细胞介导免疫反应有任何影响。我们的研究结果为理解夜间光照对野生动物的生理影响提供了新的贡献。我们还提供了证据表明长波长琥珀色LED会扰乱生理，并非对所有物种都是对野生动物敏感的照明选择。
