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Guardian article on how city lights affect bats

Guardian article

SOME EFFECTS OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING ON WILDLIFE

As every gardener knows, outdoor chrysanthemums usually bloom in autumn
with short daylight hours. This is the photoperiodic effect. Pot
chrysanthemums are now sold which are either treated chemically or kept
with less daylight than is available naturally. Some wild plants respond to
photoperiodicism e.g. Yellow toadflax flowers only when the nights are
lengthening and there is uninterrupted darkness. Uninterrupted darkness is an
important factor controlling bud dormancy, flowering and leaf-fall in native
deciduous trees. Many weeds e.g. Chickweed and Dandelion seem
unaffected and flower anytime that the weather is warm enough.

Common sense tells us that animals, particularly humans, have sounder sleep
in darkness. The light sensitive cells in the retina of the eyes have to
‘regenerate’ during sleep in darkness. The nocturnal animals, particularly
small mammals, have eyes adapted to low light conditions. In the same way
that a human is rendered temporarily or permanently blind by a search light
beam, small mammals are blinded by bright lights at night. Even if this is only
partial, they are at risk from predators until their sight returns and they cannot
see to forage for food and may die of exhaustion.

Invertebrate animals are also at risk from artificial light at night.

INSECTS

· Electric light can affect the behaviour or nocturnal insects e.g. the
Robinson Brothers (1950) showed that a high general level of
illumination causes night-flying insects to settle as they would normally
do at daybreak so feeding, breeding and egg-laying activities cease.
The congregation of moths round bright lights provides a concentrated
source of food for some bat species at night and for birds in the early
morning.
· Increase of lighting may lead to fragmentation of habitats, producing
small isolated insect colonies. This may then affect the interbreeding
potential between the populations.
· Artificial light can affect mating of moths in other ways:
a) females do not produce the sex pheromores to attract males.
b) moth larvae do not produce overwintering pupae and so will be killed
by frost or, if they emerge as adults, die of starvation as a result of nonavailability
of food.
· Less work has been done on the impact of artificial lighting on other
insects but Bratton (1990) suggests that mayfly life cycles may be
disrupted and Crowson (1981) considers that the survival of the glowworm
is threatened by outdoor lighting.
· There is considerable evidence from experimental laboratory work that
the life cycle and development of camouflage in insects can be
severely affected by an incorrect day length.

BIRDS

· For birds in Britain, day length initiates behaviour patterns such as
courtship, mating rituals, reproductive cycles, migration, fat deposition
and moulting. Rawson (1923) demonstrated a close correlation
between the commencement of dawn singing in Thrushes and a critical
light intensity at sunrise. This clearly indicates the precise nature of the
control of behaviour in birds by light which artificial outdoor lighting
could disrupt.
· Lock (1965) noted that Robins and Blackbirds began laying one or two
weeks earlier in urban gardens than in woods which could be the effect
of artificial lighting. Problems of food supply for the young may occur if
hatching is too early.
· Isolated artificial light sources on moonless nights can affect the
orientational / migrational ability of birds but this is not observed on
moonlit nights.
· Nocturnal birds are likely to be disturbed by the presence of bright
illumination. Barn Owls, Long-eared Owls and Nightjars are already
under threat and their ability to catch prey may be affected by artificial
light.
· Birds which are normally active during the day may extend their
feeding day leading to a decrease in prey population.

MAMMALS

· Nocturnal mammals are likely to be disturbed by the presence of bright
illumination and could be deterred from using established foraging and
breeding areas, e.g. Badgers and Otters.
· Bats – there are beneficial effects for fast flying bat species feeding on
insects attracted to artificial light sources but slower flying species are
not so attracted and these include most of those bats considered
vulnerable in Europe.
· Beasley and Zucker (1984) suggest that, in at least one species of Bat,
day length influences the male reproductive cycle and the level and
timing of peak body weight through autumn fat deposition.
· Physiological and hormonal changes initiating hibernating in Bats and
Dormice have been linked to day length.

Suggestions for limiting harmful effects of artificial lighting on wildlife

If floodlighting of buildings is to be undertaken, care should be taken to
establish the intensity of illumination being fitted and the wavelength of light
being used. Some more mellow light from which blue and ultra-violet rays are
excluded may be quite adequate – or even preferable. Ultra-violet light is very
damaging to unprotected living organisms and kills many invertebrate animals
and microscopic plant life.
The light should be directed at the buildings and wherever possible trees
should not be directly illuminated.
If security lighting is necessary, take advice and try to install lamps which
avoid the harmful effects of the blue / ultra-violet and the red / infra-red ends
of the spectrum.
These are just a few of the possible effects of artificial outdoor lighting and
increase of day length on the natural world. All the living organisms in one
environment interact so even if just one organism is affected then this could
have other ‘knock-on’ effects in the food chain.

References

Outen, Alan R. The Possible Ecological Implications of Artificial Lighting.
Hertfordshire Environmental Records Centre 1992.
Bratton, J. H. A Review of the Scarcer Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera of
Great Britain. Research and Survey in Nature Conservation NCC 1990.
Crowson, R. A. The Biology of Coleoptera. New York Press 1981.
Rawson, H. E. A. Bird’s Song in Relation to Light. Trans. Herts Natural
History Society 17 1932.
Lack, D. The Life of the Robin. 4th Edition Collins 1965.
Beasley and Zucker. Photoperiod Influences on the Annual Cycle of the
Male Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus). J Reprod, Fert 70 1984.

[Source:  http://www.ywt.org.uk/_filestore/Some%20effects%20of%20artificial%20lighting%20on%20wildlife.pdf ]

Excellent RTE Radio documentary about Dublin lighting

Mp3 here: http://www.rte.ie/podcasts/2007/pc/pod-v-24m19s-270907-thegreenlight.mp3

National Geographic article on light pollution

Interesting article and beautiful photos here.

Also some more information from National Geographic here

Earth At Night

Interesting images of the Earth at night as seen from space:

(Source: http://thecontaminated.com/earth-at-night-continents/ )

Energy Conservation Tips: Commercial Lighting

So what steps can businesses take to reduce the amount of energy used for lighting? Here’s a few simple suggestions:

• Motion sensors: automatically turn on/off lights at night, only when they are really needed e.g. by security or cleaning staff.
• Dimmers: reduce the amount of energy used while still illumintating an area.
• Timers: ensure lights are turned off automatically when buildings are empty.
• Light Shields: reduce light pollution, glare and waste by directing lights only to where they are needed.
• Energy efficient lighting: use less energy by switching to energy efficient bulbs and fixtures e.g. CFL, LED or Compact Flourescents.

Turn It Off at Lightwave 2009 in The Science Gallery

We are very excited to announce that the “Turn It Off” project has been selected for the Science Gallery’s upcoming Lightwave exhibition in January 2009.

Lightwave 2009

The Great Solar Shakeout

An interesting analysis of current investment trends in solar industries can be read here.

Forbes

Buildings in Dublin that waste energy

We are currently drawing up a list of buildings in Dublin city centre that waste energy by leaving their lights on overnight. If you have noticed any please let us know. Even better, take a photo if you can and email it to turnitoffproject@gmail.com so we can upload it to this website. The worst offenders will be featured in the film. So far people have suggested the following:

New office near Smithfield

Lights on in the IFSC on 13th October

Unidentified building on Sir John Rogerson’s quay

Unidentified building on Sir John Rogerson’s quay

PWC on the Quays, lit up like a Christmas tree

AIB Trade Centre

chq

Irish Nationwide

• Irish Aid on O’Connell Street which has high-energy lighting and many LCD TVs and displays running 24 hours a day.

• The Compustore on St. Stephen’s Green has been closed for several YEARS and the florescent backlight of its sign still hadn’t gone out when last I checked.

• The Helix building in D.C.U, big roof with purple light you can see for miles…

• Croke park leave their flood lights on at odd hours (5am), much to the anoyance of the locals.

• Ulster bank near butt bridge

• New eircom building near heuston.

• The PWC building on the Quays near the point

• The IFSC (CHQ and the AIB Trade Centre in particular)

• The flood lights on the Harold’s cross greyhound track

• Leinster House…

• The office block opposite Tripod…..

• The AIB Bank (I think) on Tritonville Road, Sandymount, just at the Dart gates. The entrance basks in light installations leading up to the door. Which is shut. They also have a large glazed stairwell to the right which has illuminated handrails, ALL THE WAY UP. Silly

• The spire, a waste of time in the first place adds insult to injury by illuminating itself at night!