Bortle, " The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale", accessed April 2022. The International Dark-Sky Association " Light pollution", accessed April 2022.Additional resourcesįor more information about light pollution, check out " The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light" by Paul Bogard and " Fighting Light Pollution: Smart Lighting Solutions for Individuals and Communities" by The International Dark-Sky Association. However, street and commercial lights along the coast can confuse the hatchlings and cause them to move inland where they are often eaten or killed by car traffic. As turtle hatchlings emerge along sandy beaches, their natural instinct is to scurry to the ocean bathed in moonlight. The study found that the use of outdoor light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which emit wavelengths in the blue spectrum of light, suppresses melatonin five times more than traditional outdoor light.įor newborn turtles, the presence of artificial lighting can make the difference between life and death, according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy. While studying the reproductive cycle of wallabies, researchers have also found that births were weeks earlier among wallabies living near a lightly polluted area, such as a naval base, than those living in more rural areas, according to the Journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Also, when sources of artificial light are placed outside a bat's roost, it can prevent them from ever leaving and lead to them starving.īats flying over Colorado river in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, their insect prey is attracted to light sources, which leads to barren hunting grounds for bats, according to the Bat Conservation Trust. These flying mammals are well adapted to hunting at night and actively avoid illuminated areas. Nocturnal predators such as bats are among the most affected by light pollution. Implications on wildlife behaviourĪlong with health issues, light pollution can interfere with the behaviours of wildlife. In studies of the European perch, researchers have found that even at the lowest light intensities disrupted melatonin production within the fish, according to the journal Environmental Pollution. The circadian rhythm doesn’t only affect humans, but most other living things. It has also been suggested that melatonin disruption by way of light pollution is connected to the increased risk of hormone-related cancers, such as breast or prostate cancer, according to journal Environmental Health Perspectives. This can result in disturbed sleep, impact our immune system and responses to stress. However, light pollution has been found to curb melatonin production in humans, even at low levels. – What is climate change, and how is it affecting Earth? – Acid rain: Causes, effects and solutions Melatonin is released from the pineal gland in the brain and helps to increase tiredness and regulate sleep cycles, with peak production occurring in the early hours of the morning, according to the UK's National Heath Service (NHS). Once the Sun has gone down and we are exposed to low light, our bodies naturally release a hormone called melatonin. Collectively they’re also known as our body clock and is related to our sleep-wake cycle, according to Harvard University. Other than depriving us of a starry star, there are many more implications to excess use of artificial light, such as throwing the human body's natural cycle out of whack.Ĭircadian rhythms are a group of physiological and neurological changes that occur in the body over a 24-hour-period. The scale measures our ability to observe celestial objects, such as planets and stars, under the interference of skyglow. Bortle created the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale, which measures the brightness of the night sky at different locations. To monitor and characterise light pollution, American astronomer John E. But because of light pollution, 37% of people living in America don’t use their night vision, according to the BBC. The retina of the human eye can naturally adjust its light-sensing cells to acclimate to very low-light conditions, to allow some sort of night vision, according to the Duke University. This also means that a large portion of the population doesn’t use the full potential of their eyes. Around 99% of people living in Europe and America live under skies that are almost 10% brighter than they would naturally be, according to the BBC.
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