IMPACTS OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT AT NIGHT ON NOCTURNAL AND DIURNAL INSECT BIOLOGY AND DIVERSITY

Abstract

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is leading to light pollution on local and global scales. Reflected and scattered light contributes to skyglow over cities and large industrial complexes. ALAN is one of the key drivers of insect declines in the Anthropocene era. This is the likely consequence of perturbations in circadian clocks by extension and even abolition of the dark phase of the diel cycle, which affect reproduction and foraging. Bioluminescent insects that use light as sexual signals are severely affected by ALAN and may be under sexual selection for even brighter signals. The phototactic response of insects to light is also causing mortality due to increased predation and altered activity. Mitigatory measures are urgently needed to stem insect declines and to ‘protect’ the role of insects in community ecology. New satellite technology for ALAN measurement is urgently required. There are many research gaps, such as the effect of ALAN on diurnal insects and on interaction networks, that need to be filled.