Authors: Carolyn S. Burt, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Grace E. Trankina, Carol L. Silva, Ali Khalighifar, Hank C. Jenkins-Smith, Andrew S. Fox, Kurt M. Fristrup, and Kyle G. Horton
Year: 2023
Publication: Trends in Ecology & Evolution
Publication Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.12.006
Abstract: Awareness of light as a pollutant is growing,
and with emerging technologies our
understanding of how light pollution
uniquely impacts migratory species
through mechanisms of negative or positive
phototaxis, and at times physiological
responses, has grown.
Extinguishing and dimming lights is a first
priority to reducing ecological impacts,
but light can be modified when needed
across multiple dimensions, including
correlated color temperature or more holistic
color spectra. Responses to light
color and intensity are not uniform across
taxonomic groups.
Light pollution can affect nocturnal and
diurnal animal migrants by disrupting
their movements at various scales: at
local scales through collisions with lit
structures, at regional scales by altering
stopover sites and the aerial connectivity
of the night sky, and at macroscales
through exposure to sky glow and altered
phenology.