Download turn off lights for birds7/3/2023 “The best part of a lot of these is they save everyone money,” says Alaasam. Reducing light pollution can be as simple as turning off the lights, installing motion sensors that limit when lights are on, or adding dimmers that reduce the light coming from a single bulb. Unlike removing pollution from the air or water, light pollution can be eliminated immediately. Even dim lighting far from the city may impact their health.Ī study of zebra finch birds found chemical markers of stress in birds exposed to dim lighting in a lab after just three weeks, but scientists don’t yet know what that means for bird health long term, says Valentina Alaasam, a study author and biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno.Īnd while birds and insects are often highlighted as light pollution victims, artificial light impacts all animals, says Kyba. Photographs by JIM RICHARDSON, Nat Geo Image Collectionīirds are also easily disoriented by bright city lights and frequently die from colliding into bright buildings reflecting the sun and shining artificial light at night. ![]() One study published in 2020 suggested light pollution, along with habitat loss and pesticide use, could put some of the world’s 2,000 different firefly species at risk of going extinct. But city and suburban lights outshine these cues at alarming rates. “But when we add a bunch of artificial light, obviously that’s going to mess things up.”įireflies use light to signal to potential mates at night. “For all of evolutionary history there was a stable pattern-any animal or plant can anticipate day and night,” says Kyba. ![]() All manner of wildlife is affected-for example, some bugs can be more easily preyed on and some birds fly off course. Researchers found that animals look to light via the rising and setting of the sun and moon to determine when to emerge from their hiding places to hunt, forage, migrate, and mate. ![]() ![]() How light pollution harms the environmentĪ report from last year examined over 160 species of plants, fish, mammals, and insects to understand how our artificial lights are changing ecosystems.
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