This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Light pollution is one of the fastest-growing and least-regulated environmental changes worldwide. It disrupts biological processes at all levels—from genes to entire ecosystems—and contributes significantly to global biodiversity loss.
A recent review article, in which the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) participated, addresses the ecological consequences of artificial nighttime lighting. Based on a comprehensive assessment of the impacts on organisms on land and in water, the authors identify priorities for research and management. The Review Article was published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity.
Over the past decade, the night sky has brightened by an average of nearly 10% per year. According to projections, by 2052, half of the Earth's land area will be affected by light pollution. Since large cities are concentrated near important natural areas such as coastal regions and freshwater bodies, and light pollution is reaching even seemingly untouched habitats, the natural day-night rhythm has changed for many animals and plants.
"The light-dark cycle is one of the most stable environmental signals throughout evolution. A change in this signal due to light pollution therefore has far-reaching consequences for biodiversity," said Dr. Ashton Dickerson, the article's lead author.
It is well known that the release of melatonin in all vertebrate groups—that is, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish—is suppressed by light pollution, on average by 36%. Plants are also affected by light pollution, as their seasonal rhythms are shifted: Urban trees bud earlier and lose their leaves later. Research shows that light pollution influences the lengthening of the urban growing season more strongly than air temperature—especially toward the end of the growing season.
Other documented consequences include changes in animal behavior throughout the day-night cycle. For example, some bird species begin singing earlier in the day. Light pollution also alters the spatial distribution of animals by attracting or driving them away.
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