Experimental approaches to determine the impacts of light pollution: field studies on bats and insects

城市地区在全球范围内的扩张速度比任何其他土地覆盖类型都快，导致生态系统的结构和功能发生了戏剧性的变化。对于希望抵消负面影响的保护生物学家来说，了解城市化对物种和种群的影响至关重要。城市化和人类干扰会导致生态适应不良的行为，从而对野生动物造成不利影响。增加的人为噪声、道路、工业发展和人工照明对野生动物的负面影响已经确定。虽然现在的研究正在解决人为噪音的影响，但直到最近，人们才对与城市化相关的人造光污染的生态影响感兴趣。光污染是一个日益严重的全球性问题，影响着每一个有人居住的大陆，覆盖了许多国家100%的陆地面积。随着人口的增加和日益城市化，全球范围内的光污染水平将会增加。蝙蝠是夜间活动的，是最有可能受到光污染影响的群体之一，它们作为生物指示器对一系列与人为变化相关的因素做出反应。蝙蝠和它们的昆虫猎物一起构成了研究光污染影响的理想系统。全球近四分之一的蝙蝠物种受到威胁，而对种群的关键潜在威胁是不断增加的人类种群对资源的压力。蝙蝠栖息地正受到郊区开发及其相关人工照明的越来越多的干扰，栖息地和觅食区与栖息地的连接是许多蝙蝠种群生存的基础。在英国，对蝙蝠种群的威胁导致蝙蝠种群受到英国和欧洲立法的保护。在我们之前使用野外实验进行的研究中，我们发现最常见的英国路灯(高压钠)会破坏蝙蝠的栖息地，导致蝙蝠改变行为，从而产生潜在的负面保护后果。我们对光干扰对野生动物的影响提供了新的见解。我们的结果表明，光干扰对蝙蝠的影响因物种而异，因此比之前认为的要复杂得多。了解光干扰对蝙蝠空间行为(觅食和通勤)的影响是有效保护管理的关键。空间行为模式是动物与其栖息地之间的纽带。因此，景观的破坏可能会干扰种群持续存在和维持生物多样性所必需的关键生态过程。了解动物在光干扰下的觅食和觅食行为，将有助于我们理解种群如何适应环境变化，以及日益城市化带来的未来挑战。在确定了光照对蝙蝠的负面影响后，我们为研究对个体行为的影响奠定了基础。这将扩大我们对光干扰的影响在可能的健身后果的背景下的理解。我们还将研究即将普及的新兴照明技术对蝙蝠行为和昆虫丰度、多样性以及对蝙蝠回声定位的逃避反应的影响。在与政策制定者的合作下，项目成果将用于创建指导手册，为开发商、生态学家和规划者等利益攸关方提供信息，在受光污染影响的地区与蝙蝠及其猎物合作。我们的团队处于光污染生物影响研究的前沿，可以说是国际上最适合进行这项研究的团队。该项目将直接实现皇家环境污染委员会(2009年)的主要建议，即国家环境研究中心领导一项试点研究计划，以探索人造光对人口和生态系统的影响。

Urban areas are expanding faster globally than any other land cover type, causing dramatic changes in the structure and function of ecosystems. Understanding the implications of urbanisation for species and populations is crucial for conservation biologists wishing to counteract negative effects. Urbanisation and human disturbance affect wildlife adversely by causing ecologically maladapted behaviours. Negative effects of increased anthropogenic noise, roads, industrial development and artificial lighting on wildlife have been identified. Although research is now addressing the impacts of anthropogenic noise, only recently has there been an interest in the ecological impacts of artificial light pollution associated with urbanisation. Light pollution is an increasing global problem affecting every inhabited continent, covering 100% of the land area in many countries. As human populations rise and become increasingly urbanised, levels of light pollution are set to increase globally. Being nocturnal, bats are among the groups most likely to be affected by light pollution, and respond as bioindicators to a range of factors associated with anthropogenic change. Together with their insect prey bats form an ideal system for investigating the impacts of light pollution. Almost a quarter of bat species globally are threatened, and the key underlying threat to populations is pressure on resources from increasing human populations. Bat habitats are under increasing disturbance from suburban development and its associated artificial lighting, and connectivity of habitat and foraging areas to roosts is fundamental to the survival of many bat populations. In the UK, threats to bat populations have resulted in populations becoming protected under UK and European legislation. During our previous research using field-based experiments we showed that the most common UK street-lights (high pressure sodium) fragment bat habitats, causing bats to change their behaviour with potentially negative conservation consequences. We provided new insights into the effects of light disturbance on wildlife. Our results suggest that the effect of light disturbance on bats varies between species and is therefore more complex than previously thought. Understanding the effects of light disturbance on bat spatial behaviour (foraging and commuting) is key to effective conservation management. Spatial behaviour patterns are the link between animals and their habitats. A disruption of the landscape may therefore interfere with critical ecological processes necessary for population persistence and the maintenance of biodiversity. Understanding the foraging and ranging behaviour of animals in relation to light disturbance will help us to understand how populations adapt to environmental change and the future challenges posed by increasing urbanisation. Having identified a negative effect of lighting on bats we have established the foundation upon which to study effects on individual behaviours. This will expand our understanding of the impacts of light disturbance in the context of likely fitness consequences. We will also study the impacts of emerging lighting technologies that will soon become widespread both on bat behaviour and on insect abundance, diversity, and evasive responses to bat echolocation. In collaboration with policy makers, project results will be used to create a guidance manual to inform stakeholders such as developers, ecologists and planners, working with bats and their prey in areas affected by light pollution. Our team is at the forefront of research on the biological impacts of light pollution, and arguably is the best suited team internationally to conduct this study. This project will directly achieve the key recommendation of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (2009) that NERC leads a pilot programme of research to explore the impacts of artificial light on populations and ecosystems.