title: Light pollution reduces activity, food consumption and growth rates in a sandy beach invertebrate.
abstract: The continued growth of human activity and infrastructure has translated into a widespread increase in light pollution. Natural daylight and moonlight cycles play a fundamental role for many organisms and ecological processes, so an increase in light pollution may have profound effects on communities and ecosystem services. Studies assessing ecological light pollution (ELP) effects on sandy beach organisms have lagged behind the study of other sources of disturbance. Hence, we assessed the influence of this stressor on locomotor activity, foraging behavior, absorption efficiency and growth rate of adults of the talitrid amphipod Orchestoidea tuberculata. In the field, an artificial light system was assembled to assess the local influence of artificial light conditions on the amphipod's locomotor activity and use of food patches in comparison to natural (ambient) conditions. Meanwhile in the laboratory, two experimental chambers were set to assess amphipod locomotor activity, consumption rates, absorption efficiency and growth under artificial light in comparison to natural light-dark cycles. Our results indicate that artificial light have significantly adverse effects on the activity patterns and foraging behavior of the amphipods, resulting on reduced consumption and growth rates. Given the steady increase in artificial light pollution here and elsewhere, sandy beach communities could be negatively affected, with unexpected consequences for the whole ecosystem.
authors: Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, República no. 440, Santiago, Chile.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Luarte
authors: Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
authors: C C
authors: CC
authors: Bonta
authors: Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, República no. 440, Santiago, Chile.
authors: E A
authors: EA
authors: Silva-Rodriguez
authors: Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada.
authors: P A
authors: PA
authors: Quijón
authors: Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, República no. 440, Santiago, Chile.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Miranda
authors: Departamento de Ecología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile; Center for Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Chile; Centro de Investigación e Innovación para el Cambio Climático (CIICC), Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile.
authors: A A
authors: AA
authors: Farias
authors: Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, República no. 440, Santiago, Chile; Center for the Study of Multiple-drivers on Marine Socio-ecological Systems (MUSELS), Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile. Electronic address: cristian.duarte@unab.cl.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Duarte
mesh_terms: D033304:Amphipoda / Q000528:radiation effects*; D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008029:Lighting
keywords: Amphipods; Light pollution; Sandy beach