title: Effects of light pollution on the emergent fauna of shallow marine ecosystems: Amphipods as a case study.
abstract: Light pollution from coastal urban development is a widespread and increasing threat to biodiversity. Many amphipod species migrate between the benthos and the pelagic environment and light seems is a main ecological factor which regulates migration. We explore the effect of artificial lighting on amphipod assemblages using two kind of lights, LED and halogen, and control traps in shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Both types of artificial light traps showed a significantly higher abundance of individuals for all species in comparison to control traps. LED lights showed a stronger effect over the amphipod assemblages, with these traps collecting a higher number of individuals and differing species composition, with some species showing a specific attraction to LED light. As emergent amphipods are a key ecological group in the shallow water environment, the impact of artificial light can affect the broader functioning of the ecosystem.
authors: Laboratorio de Biología Marina, Dpto. Fisiología y Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda Reina Mercedes 6, 41012 Sevilla, Spain. Electronic address: carlosnavarro@us.es.
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Navarro-Barranco
authors: Australian Museum, 6 College St., Sydney, New South Wales 2010, Australia. Electronic address: Lauren.Hughes@austmus.gov.au.
authors: Lauren Elizabeth
authors: LE
authors: Hughes
mesh_terms: D033304:Amphipoda / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008027:Light
keywords: Amphipoda; Coastal management; Emergent fauna; Great Barrier Reef; Light pollution