title: Artificial night lighting inhibits feeding in moths.
abstract: One major, yet poorly studied, change in the environment is nocturnal light pollution, which strongly alters habitats of nocturnally active species. Artificial night lighting is often considered as driving force behind rapid moth population declines in severely illuminated countries. To understand these declines, the question remains whether artificial light causes only increased mortality or also sublethal effects. We show that moths subjected to artificial night lighting spend less time feeding than moths in darkness, with the shortest time under light conditions rich in short wavelength radiation. These findings provide evidence for sublethal effects contributing to moth population declines. Because effects are strong under various types of light compared with dark conditions, the potential of spectral alterations as a conservation tool may be overestimated. Therefore, restoration and maintenance of darkness in illuminated areas is essential for reversing declines of moth populations.
authors.affiliation: Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands frank.vanlangevelde@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8870-0797
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Langevelde
authors.affiliation: Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Roy H A
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: van Grunsven
authors.affiliation: Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elmar M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Veenendaal
authors.affiliation: Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.|Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Thijs P M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4371-2708
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Fijen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005260:Female; D008027:Light / Q000009:adverse effects; D008029:Lighting / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D009036:Moths / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*
keywords: Lepidoptera; feeding behaviour; moth population declines; nocturnal light pollution; sublethal effect