Public Release: 28-Apr-2015. University of Exeter.
Marine ecosystems can be changed by night-time artificial lighting according to new research published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. The results indicate that light pollution from coastal communities, shipping and offshore infrastructure could be changing the composition of marine invertebrate communities.
Researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Bangor used a raft in the Menai Strait to monitor how artificial light at night affects the settlement of marine invertebrates into new habitats. Light is an important cue which guides the larvae of marine invertebrates as they search for suitable habitats to settle, grow and reproduce.
The researchers found that artificial light both suppressed and encouraged colonisation by several species common to British coasts, including sea squirts and keel worms. These species are often referred to as fouling invertebrates as they adhere to manmade structures sometimes causing problems in marinas, dockyards and aquaculture facilities.
The results indicate that artificial light – increasingly used in coastal environments – could encourage unwanted fouling in marinas and dockyards, but also alter the abundances of these species in the wider environment where they can provide important ecosystem services.
Read more at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-04/uoe-clp042715.php