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| Light Pollution and its Effects on Flora and Fauna | |||||||
| Paper Id :
16997 Submission Date :
17/12/2022 Acceptance Date :
22/12/2022 Publication Date :
25/12/2022
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| Abstract | Light pollution, or artificial light at night, is the excessive and inappropriate use of artificial outdoor light. Most outdoor lighting used at night is excessive, extra bright, misdirected, improperly shielded and in many cases, completely unnecessary. It disrupts the natural patterns of wildlife, contributes to the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, and obscures the stars in the night sky. In present study impact of light pollution on various species is discussed in view of It disruption of our ecosystem and consequently has adverse health effects on flora and fauna. The consequences of light pollution on humans and wildlife are very serious and are also responsible for other types of pollution of climate. In present investigation along with the discussion on serious effects of light pollution on our ecology, flora and fauna , various measures to control light pollution are also suggested. | ||||||
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| Keywords | Light Pollution, Flora and Fauna, Ecology. | ||||||
| Introduction |
Light pollution is unnecessary, excessive and poorly directed outdoor artificial light. The brightening of the night sky can be observed due to scattering of artificial light by gaseous molecules and dust particles in the atmosphere. Too much light pollution washes out the view of the Universe, increases energy consumption, interferes with astronomical research, disrupts ecosystems, and affects the health and safety of humans, wildlife and vegetation. Broadly light pollution is of five types – light trespass, over-illumination, glare, clutter and sky glow [1]. Light trespass is the unnecessary light that is light falling where it is not intended or needed, Over-illumination is caused by intense lighting pointing upwards, Glare is excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort, Clutter is bright, confusing and excessive groupings of light sources which can be noticed on roads where streetlights are badly designed and Skyglow is the diffused glow of the night sky over inhabited areas [2]. |
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| Aim of study | The objective of this paper is to study the light pollution and its effects on Flora and Fauna. | ||||||
| Review of Literature | Studying on Artificially lit surface of Earth at night Kyba[3] has shown in his study that between 2012 and 2016, the artificially-lit surface of the planet at night increased in radiance and extent by 2.2% per year [3]. The artificially-lit areas at night across India increased by 33%, a rise of 7.4% per year during the same time, more than three times the global growth [4]. The New World Atlas of Artificial Sky Brightness showed that 99% of the population of the US and Europe lives in places where the night sky view is erased by man-made artificial lights. In India, around 94 % of population live under light-polluted skies. Over millions of years, living organisms have evolved with natural daylight of sun and natural darkness of night setting up their natural rhythm. This rhythm has been affected very badly with artificial lights at night. These artificial lighting levels in our cities are many times higher than the natural lighting levels due to starlight. The natural dark-light cycle is completely upset and impacting human life, wildlife and vegetation. Astronomers are particularly concerned with sky glow pollution as it reduces their ability to view celestial objects. Light pollution has many other harmful effects on the environment. These involve the animal kingdom, the vegetable kingdom and mankind. While light pollution is eminently detrimental to nocturnal and migratory animals and birds and to animals in flight, it also produces harmful effects on various species as: turtles, nocturnal frog and fishes. The nocturnal frogs are blinded by even dim light. Their ability to hunt is drastically reduced. Light pollution aggravates air pollution also. Photochemical smog produces due to the chemical reactions of light, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere, leaving airborne particles and ground-level ozone as a result [5]. The presence of excessive light at night significantly slow down the nightly cleansing of environment, and enhance the Photochemical smog production. It also affects levels of carbon monoxide and other airborne pollutants in the atmosphere. Light pollution also leads to a great wastage of energy. Lighting that emits too much light or shines when and where it’s not needed is wasteful. Wasted light results in energy waste. According to a study estimated that 30% of all light emitted by public outdoor light fixtures is wasted, mostly by lights that aren’t shielded, which amounts to 22 Terawatt Hours (TWh)/year of wasted electrical energy. This is equivalent to the following: About 3.6 million tons of coal per year, about 12.9 million barrels of oil per year or the release of 21 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. To offset all that carbon dioxide, we’d have to plant 875 million trees annually. Public lightening is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The total amount of wasted electrical energy each year is enough to illuminate over 11 million homes per year and power over 777,000 [1]. The by-product of electric illumination generated by the burning of fossil fuels results in discharge of greenhouse gases. These gases are responsible for global warming and the exhaustion of nonrenewable resources. Unlike other forms of pollution on earth, it is very less considered and understood form of pollution but now it is being recognized as a severe environmental and health hazard [6] and many organizations are working on it to make people aware and to reduce light pollution worldwide. So the objective of this study is to make people aware about the severity of the issue of light pollution and its consequences on our lives and to implement different methods to reduce light pollution. |
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| Main Text | Impact on Flora Exposure of vegetation to light and darkness is very important. Darkness is required by plants in many different ways. The management of their metabolism, their development and their life programmes are affected by day-light cycle. Plants measure and react to night length and react accordingly. The short-day plants normally bloom in the autumn when the day length shortens and utilize the long nights to start the onset of flowering. If such a plant is illuminated temporarily during a long night, its flowering and developmental patterns will be disrupted [7]. Studies also suggest that light pollution around lakes prevents zooplankton, from eating surface algae which causes algae colonies to bloom. This in turn, kills off the lakes' plants and lower water quality. The lake becomes stratified due to eutrophication. It may also affect our ecosystem in other ways. Night blooming flower depend on moths and nocturnal insect for pollination. The night-time light may interfere with the ability of moths and other nocturnal insects to navigate and it can lead to species decline of night flowering plants and change an area's long-term ecology. Trees are also harmfully affected by light pollution. Trees have to adjust to seasonal alterations, and artificial light hinders them from doing so: various trees are kept from losing their leaves by light pollution. This has a consequence on the animals that depend on trees as their habitat. For instance, birds are prevented from nesting in trees as a result of the surrounding light pollution. Impact on Fauna The light dark cycles has set up a pattern for living beings and any disturbance in this cycle can effect numerous aspects of animal behavior. Light pollution can confound animal navigation, alter predator prey relations, and affect animal physiology [8]. Birds The light in the form of fire or lamps attracts migratory and non-migratory birds at night, especially in foggy or cloudy nights is used as a form of hunting [8]. The navigation of birds using the horizon as orientation for the direction is disrupted by lighting and sky glow [9]. Also, the fatalities at light- houses depend on the type of signal used. Fixed white lights attract more individuals than flashing or coloured lights [10]. Birds are also attracted by Ceilometers (uses light beams) which are used to measure the cloud height especially at airports. Approximately 50,000 migratory birds (largest kill ever recorded at a ceilometer) died on October 6-8, 1954 at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia [8]. The number of causalities can be significantly reduced by filtering the longer wavelength of the lamps used and changing the beam from a fixed beam into a rotating one [9]. The artificial light of street-lamps and illuminated buildings has fatal consequences for migratory birds. These mostly nocturnal migratory species are disorientated and attracted by the sky glow which is produce in cities during the night, especially in under foggy and rainy nights, Rasna Rajkhowa [2] reported killing of thousands of birds in one night due to impact of artificial light. With the increase in telecommunication technology, the number and height of broadcasting towers are increasing and causes fatal collisions with migratory birds. Studies show that using rotating or blinking red lights and white strobe lights can reduce the effect of trapping birds at illuminated towers, but there a lot of work is needed to improve the understanding of the whole effect on the migration process and to reduce it significantly [9]. Artificial light at night can also impact the timing of migration and other seasonal behaviours because it can disrupt their biological clocks. For example, birds may misinterpret artificial light at night as a longer period of daylight. Migration mis-timing can also be an issue if the necessary environmental conditions and resources are not available for birds during migration or their destination. These light induced behaviours result in the risk of their exhaustion, predation and lethal collision with buildings and other man-made infrastructure. Turtles Artificial light impacts female turtles who are searching locations for nests and on hatchlings. The female turtles avoid illuminated beaches for their nests and hence their nests are concentrated on the less illuminated and shaded parts, which eventually affects the number and sex ratio of hatchlings produced and higher hatchling mortality [2,11]. The nesting behaviour itself can be affected by many factors. The overall nesting success of sea turtles in Florida is between 50% and 80%. After ending the nesting process, the turtles return to the sea and in this process also they are attracted by artificial light and get confused. The hatchlings themselves are affected by the sky glow and direct illumination. The artificial light of street lamps, houses or sky glow of cities, especially on nights with little or no moon, can distract the hatchlings on their way to the sea. Because of these orientation problems, the hatchlings crawl in the wrong direction where they are threatened by dehydration, predators, and high temperatures after sunrise. Fishes Artificial light affects the natural behaviour of fishes in many ways. Studies show that most of the fishes avoid white light sources but some species are attracted by light and this is used to catch them by sport anglers or industrial fisheries. Floating lamps are used to catch fishes which increases their swimming depth and reduce fish density in production cages. A study of lighting techniques in deep-sea fish observation pointed out that white light disrupts the natural behaviour of deep-sea fish. Observations showed that the “average number of fish appearances on camera was significantly greater under red light than white light” [12]. Reasons are the adaptation of the eyes of deep-sea fishes to the dark environment and the possible damage to eyes by bright light. Measures to Reduce Light Pollution The best method for reducing light pollution depends on the problem at any given instance. People should be asked to act to reduce light pollution and bring back the natural night sky. There may be many solutions. 1. Using light sources of minimum intensity necessary to accomplish the light's purpose. 2. Using outdoor lighting only when and where it is needed, timers or sensors can also be used. 3. Improving lighting fixtures and their shielding, so that lights are directed more accurately towards where it is needed, For outdoors, lights should be fitted so that light is directed downwards instead of up into the sky. 4. Adjusting the type of lights used, so that the light waves emitted are those that are less likely to cause severe light pollution problems. 5. Using window blinds, shades, and curtains at night to keep light inside the room so as not to confuse birds, insects etc. 6. Using red light since light in the red spectrum does not suppress melatonin. It has higher wavelength and animals are less sensitive to red light. 7. Evaluating existing lighting plans to assess the need of existing light and re-designing if needed. Many states have adopted legislation to control outdoor lighting, and manufacturers have designed and produced high-efficiency light sources that save energy and reduce light pollution. International Dark Sky Association (IDA), U.S. based Organization, formed in 1988, is working globally to preserve the natural darkness of night sky. The aim of IDA is to educate public about the hazards of light pollution and to certify different parks and places that have worked significantly on the reduction of light emissions at night. As of January 2022, there are 195 certified Dark Sky Places in the world. [13]. |
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| Conclusion | The light pollution, is the unwanted use of light, which has severely affected the natural pattens of dark and light in ecosystem, which have evolved around the light of the sun, moon, and stars. Tthe consequences of light pollution are detrimental for the all the living beings on the earth.. Studies have also shown that light pollution slow down reproductive cycles and even weaken the immune system in creatures. Ecosystem is very much dependent on sunlight and severely affected by light pollution. We can protect our ecosystem from various light related ailments only if precautionary measurements are taken into account about precise and proper use of light. Regarding the conservation of our ecosystem and life sustainability on planet, the light pollution is important emerging field of research. | ||||||
| References | 1. Southwest Florida Astronomical Society SWFAS old News letter’s “The Eyepiece May 2014” pp 7-11.
2. Rasna Rajkhowa (2014), Light Pollution and Impact of Light Pollution, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Volume 3 Issue 10, October 2014, p 861-867.
3. Christopher C. M. Kyba, Theres Kuester, Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, Kimberly Baugh, Andreas Jechow, Franz Hölker, Jonathan Bennie, Christopher D. Elvidge, Kevin J. Gaston and Luis Guanter (2017), Artificially lit surface of Earth at night increasing in radiance and extent, Science Advances, 22 Nov 2017:Vol. 3 (11).
4. “India Is Losing Its Night To Light, At 3 Times World Average”, Charu Bahri, India Spend, 3 Dec 2017.
5. Gardner, Sarah. "LA Smog: the battle against air pollution". Marketplace.org, American Public Media, 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
6. Komal Kaushik, Soumya Nair, Arif Ahamad, Studying light pollution as an emerging environmental concern in India, Journal of Urban Management, Volume 11, Issue 3, September 2022, P 392-405.
7. BIDWELL, TONY. Scotobiology of Plants, Conference material for the Dark Sky Symposium held in Muskoka, Canada, September 22 -24, 2003. Available at http://www .muskokaheritage.org/ecologynight/media/tony-bidwell.pdf.
8. T. Longcore and C. Rich, "Ecological light pollution". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (2004), 2(4): p 191–198.
9. RICH, C. & LONGCORE, T., 2006. Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting. Island Press Washington, DC.
10. JONES, J. & FRANCIS, C.M., 2003. The effects of light characteristics on avian mortality at lighthouses. In: Journal of Avian Biology 34: 328-333.
11. SALMON, M., 2003. Artificial night lighting and sea turtles. In: Biologist [2003] 50 [4]: 163- 168. 12 WIDDER, E.A., ROBISON, B.H., REISENBICHLER, K.R. & HADDOCK, S.H.D., 2005. Using red light for in situ observations of deep-sea fishes. 13. 10. International Dark Sky Association, https://www.darksky.org/
12. Komal Kaushik, Soumya Nair, Arif Ahamad, Studying light pollution as an emerging environmental concern in India, Journal of Urban Management, Volume 11, Issue 3, September 2022, P 392-405.
12. International Dark Sky Association, https://www.darksky.org/ |
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