CAREER: From clock genes to phenotype: organismal response to artificial light at night

目前，世界上超过65%的人口生活在光污染下，人造光使夜空亮度增加了自然光照水平的10%以上。到2025年，超过80%的世界人口将生活在轻度污染的天空中，这引发了人们对人类和野生动物福祉的关注。该项目将研究不同颜色的夜间照明如何影响野生鸟类的健康和行为节律。它还将测试夜间光线对鸟类后代的影响。最后，一项综合教育计划旨在培养下一代年轻科学家。拟议的项目将：1)通过与社区的接触提供切实成果，2)为解决光污染问题提供关键信息，3)促进重大教育成果，特别是对代表不足的学生。项目成果将通过将光数据转换为光工程师使用的索引来增强科学和技术理解，这将让工程师了解最环保的人造光源。反过来，这项研究将通过向公共政策提供关于光污染的生物影响的信息，使社会受益。PI将与飞利浦照明公司合作开发灯箱，作为小学教育工具。此外，教育计划还包括与内华达山脉旅行社合作，为家庭STEM之夜开发一个“艾伦(夜间人造光)和时钟”站，接触到更广泛的家庭、教师和管理人员。总而言之，这个项目和教育项目的发现结合在一起，共同解决了日益受到社会和科学关注的环境压力。光的循环是自然环境的基本组成部分，但在过去的半个世纪里，电气照明让艾伦淹没了世界。艾伦深刻地颠覆了光周期的时间组织，而日益多样化的电灯也提供了与任何自然光不同的光谱。几十年的研究清楚地表明，光是调节昼夜节律的最重要的时间线索。越来越多的证据还表明，光污染会导致生理破坏和病理。然而，引起这些下游效应的分子机制尚不清楚。这个项目将测试短波阿兰是否会通过扰乱昼夜节律来降低健康水平。这项建议的目的是1)评估观察到的艾伦的生理和行为影响是否由于中央和外周时钟的变化，2)确定对生殖健康和后代发育的影响，3)通过教育工具和指导吸引下一代年轻科学家。我们将结合现场和实验室实验，测试夜间光照和改良光谱对行为、生理、生殖和基因表达的影响。通过揭示对人造光反应的潜在机制，我们将能够测量、预测和改善光污染的潜在有害影响，特别是因为破坏影响取决于光的光谱组成。融合遗传学、机械学和行为学方法是揭示光污染的近期和最终后果的一种方法。该项目由综合生态生理学计划、行为系统集群和既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)联合资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Currently, over 65% of the world’s population live under light pollution, with artificial light raising night sky luminance by over 10% of natural lighting levels. By 2025, over 80% of the world’s population will live under light polluted skies, which raises concern for human and wildlife wellbeing. This project will investigate how different colors of night lighting affect the health and behavioral rhythms of wild birds. It will also test how night light affects avian offspring. Lastly, an integrated educational plan seeks to train the next generation of young scientists. The proposed project will: 1) provide tangible outcomes through outreach to the community, 2) provide critical information for addressing light pollution, and 3) contribute significant educational outcomes, particularly for underrepresented students. Project results will enhance scientific and technological understanding by converting light data into the index used by light engineers, which will inform engineers about artificial light sources that are most eco-friendly. In turn, the research will benefit society by informing public policy on the biological effects of light pollution. The PI will collaborate with Philips lighting company to develop light boxes as an educational tool for elementary schools. Additionally, the education plan contains a partnership with Sierra Nevada Journeys to develop an “ALAN (artificial light at night) and clocks” station for family STEM nights, reaching a broader audience of families, teachers, and administrators. Together, the findings of this project and the educational programs cohesively tackle an environmental pressure that is of growing societal and scientific concern.Cycles of light are a fundamental component of natural environments, but over the last half century, electric lighting has inundated the world with ALAN. ALAN profoundly disrupts the temporal organization of light cycles, and the growing diversity of electric lights also provides light with spectra different from any natural light. It is clear from decades of research that light is the most important time cue for the regulation of circadian rhythms. Growing evidence also suggests that light pollution causes physiological disruption and pathology. However, the molecular mechanisms that cause these downstream effects remain unclear. This project will test whether short-wavelength ALAN reduces fitness through circadian disruption. The objectives of this proposal are to 1) evaluate whether observed physiological and behavioral effects of ALAN are due to changes in the central and peripheral clock, 2) identify effects on reproductive fitness and offspring development, and 3) engage the next generation of young scientists through educational tools and mentoring. We will combine field and laboratory experiments to test the effects of nocturnal lighting with modified spectra on behavior, physiology, reproduction, and gene expression. By uncovering the mechanisms underlying responses to artificial light, we will be able to measure, predict and ameliorate potential harmful effects of light pollution, especially because the disruptive effects vary depending on the spectral composition of light. Merging genetic, mechanistic, and behavioral approaches is a way forward to uncover the proximate as well as ultimate consequences of light pollution.This project is jointly funded by Integrative Ecological Physiology Program, the Behavioral Systems Cluster, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.