Journal
ANIMAL CONSERVATION
Volume 18, Issue 6, Pages 512-516Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1111/acv.12200
Keywords
artificial nighttime lighting; bats; environmental management; light pollution; part-night lighting; photophobic; Rhinolophus ferrumequinum; streetlights
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Funding
- Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
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Artificial nighttime lighting has many effects on biodiversity. A proposed environmental management option, primarily to save energy, is to alter the duration of night lighting. Using the greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum as an example of a photophobic species, we explored roadside behaviour patterns throughout the night to assess the potential impact of part-night lighting. We found a large primary peak in activity 1 h after sunset, followed by a smaller secondary peak before sunrise. Simulated part-night lighting scenarios reveal that to capture a large proportion of bat activity, streetlights should be switched off before midnight. Current proposed uses of part-night lighting are unlikely to capture natural peaks in activity for nocturnal species.
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