Journal
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
Volume 23, Issue 2, Pages 697-707Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13371
Keywords
ecosystem services; flowers; Lepidoptera; light pollution; population declines; sampling
Funding
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Butterfly Conservation (Industrial CASE studentship) [NE/K007394/1]
- Berkshire
- Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust
- Pirbright Institute
- Natural Environment Research Council [1722016, 1359080] Funding Source: researchfish
- NERC [1722016] Funding Source: UKRI
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Among drivers of environmental change, artificial light at night is relatively poorly understood, yet is increasing on a global scale. The community-level effects of existing street lights on moths and their biotic interactions have not previously been studied. Using a combination of sampling methods at matched-pairs of lit and unlit sites, we found significant effects of street lighting: moth abundance at ground level was halved at lit sites, species richness was >25% lower, and flight activity at the level of the light was 70% greater. Furthermore, we found that 23% of moths carried pollen of at least 28 plant species and that there was a consequent overall reduction in pollen transport at lit sites. These findings support the disruptive impact of lights on moth activity, which is one proposed mechanism driving moth declines, and suggest that street lighting potentially impacts upon pollination by nocturnal invertebrates. We highlight the importance of considering both direct and cascading impacts of artificial light.
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