Artificial light at night has shown a remarkable increase over the past decades. Effects are repo... more Artificial light at night has shown a remarkable increase over the past decades. Effects are reported for many species groups, and include changes in presence, behaviour, physiology and life-history traits. Among these, bats are strongly affected, and how bat species react to light is likely to vary with light colour. Different spectra may therefore be applied to reduce negative impacts. We used a unique set-up of eight field sites to study the response of bats to three different experimental light spectra in an otherwise dark and undisturbed natural habitat. We measured activity of three bat species groups around transects with light posts emitting white, green and red light with an intensity commonly used to illuminate countryside roads. The results reveal a strong and spectrum-dependent response for the slow-flying Myotis and Plecotus and more agile Pipistrellus species, but not for Nyctalus and Eptesicus species. Plecotus and Myotis species avoided white and green light, but wer...
Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumula... more Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumulating evidence for–often negative–impact of artificial light in an increasing number of species. However, most of these studies are correlative and only include immediate or ...
ABSTRACT Artificial illumination attracts insects, but to what extent light attracts insects, dep... more ABSTRACT Artificial illumination attracts insects, but to what extent light attracts insects, depends on the spectral composition of the light. Response models have been developed to predict the attractiveness of artificial light sources. In this study we compared attraction of insects by existing light sources used for streetlights as well as newly developed environment friendly alternatives, and used this data to test the predictive ability of the existing response models. Light sources differed in overall attractiveness to insects and relative attractiveness was dependent on insect order. The attraction patterns predicted by the two models correlated weakly with the number of insects attracted when the only light source rich in UV, a mercury vapour light, was included in the tested spectra. When the mercury vapour light, which is going to be banned in Europe, was not included in the test no correlation was found between predicted and observed attraction patterns. We conclude that currently existing attraction response models are insufficiently sensitive to evaluate new light sources.
Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumula... more Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumulating evidence for–often negative–impact of artificial light in an increasing number of species. However, most of these studies are correlative and only include immediate or ...
Artificial light at night has shown a remarkable increase over the past decades. Effects are repo... more Artificial light at night has shown a remarkable increase over the past decades. Effects are reported for many species groups, and include changes in presence, behaviour, physiology and life-history traits. Among these, bats are strongly affected, and how bat species react to light is likely to vary with light colour. Different spectra may therefore be applied to reduce negative impacts. We used a unique set-up of eight field sites to study the response of bats to three different experimental light spectra in an otherwise dark and undisturbed natural habitat. We measured activity of three bat species groups around transects with light posts emitting white, green and red light with an intensity commonly used to illuminate countryside roads. The results reveal a strong and spectrum-dependent response for the slow-flying Myotis and Plecotus and more agile Pipistrellus species, but not for Nyctalus and Eptesicus species. Plecotus and Myotis species avoided white and green light, but wer...
Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumula... more Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumulating evidence for–often negative–impact of artificial light in an increasing number of species. However, most of these studies are correlative and only include immediate or ...
ABSTRACT Artificial illumination attracts insects, but to what extent light attracts insects, dep... more ABSTRACT Artificial illumination attracts insects, but to what extent light attracts insects, depends on the spectral composition of the light. Response models have been developed to predict the attractiveness of artificial light sources. In this study we compared attraction of insects by existing light sources used for streetlights as well as newly developed environment friendly alternatives, and used this data to test the predictive ability of the existing response models. Light sources differed in overall attractiveness to insects and relative attractiveness was dependent on insect order. The attraction patterns predicted by the two models correlated weakly with the number of insects attracted when the only light source rich in UV, a mercury vapour light, was included in the tested spectra. When the mercury vapour light, which is going to be banned in Europe, was not included in the test no correlation was found between predicted and observed attraction patterns. We conclude that currently existing attraction response models are insufficiently sensitive to evaluate new light sources.
Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumula... more Nocturnal illumination leads to a permanent disturbance of natural habitats and there is accumulating evidence for–often negative–impact of artificial light in an increasing number of species. However, most of these studies are correlative and only include immediate or ...
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Papers by Maurice Donners