Effects of artificial light on multi-trophic population dynamics

自生命首次出现以来，每日、月球和季节的自然光循环一直是整个地球表面环境变化的关键形式，并推动了从分子到生态系统的生物现象的发展。然而，在过去的100年里，由于在夜间环境中引入了人造光，这些自然模式已经被极大地破坏了。这来自多种来源，包括街道照明、广告照明、建筑照明、安全照明、家庭照明和车辆照明。事实上，据估计，全球近20%的陆地面积已经直接或间接地体验到了人造夜间照明(通过分子或气溶胶在大气层中向上发射或反射人造夜间光线的天辉散射)，并正在以每年约6%的速度增长。这一问题的严重程度可以从频繁复制的卫星和宇航员获取的夜间地球图像中得到证明。将人造光引入夜间环境无疑为人类带来了重大和实质性的好处。但是，鉴于生物系统基本上是由光塑造的，因此不可避免地会产生广泛的环境影响。研究特别侧重于对个体生物体的影响，并强调了人造夜间灯光对生理、觅食、日常活动、迁徙行为、生殖行为和死亡率的影响。虽然人口水平的影响预计会随之而来，但人们对这些影响仍然知之甚少。此外，目前还不清楚这些如何随着人造夜间灯光的强度和光谱而变化。这意味着很难就如何修改人工夜间照明(例如街道照明)以优化人类利益和环境成本之间的权衡提出可能的最佳建议。这在新照明技术的大规模和快速引入以及“智能照明”的使用的时代显得尤为重要；许多街道和其他照明系统正在转向“更白”的照明，通常使用发光二极管(LED)，中央管理系统正越来越多地启用更灵活的方法来实施公共照明。在本项目中，我们将利用建立的蚜虫-寄生蜂-重寄生蜂实验研究系统，确定不同强度和光谱的夜间人工光照对种群动态的影响。

Daily, lunar and seasonal cycles of natural light have been key forms of environmental variation across the Earth's surface since the first emergence of life, and have driven the development of biological phenomena from the molecule to the ecosystem. These natural patterns have, however, over the last 100 years come to be greatly disrupted through the introduction of artificial light into the nighttime environment. This derives from a diversity of sources, including street lighting, advertising lighting, architectural lighting, security lighting, domestic lighting and vehicle lighting. Indeed, artificial nighttime lighting is already estimated to be experienced directly and indirectly (through skyglow - scattering by molecules or aerosols in the atmosphere of artificial nighttime light that is emitted or reflected upwards) by nearly 20% of the global land area, and to be growing at about 6% per year. The extent of the problem is evidenced by frequently reproduced satellite and astronaut acquired nighttime images of the Earth.The introduction of artificial light into the nighttime environment has doubtless provided significant and substantial benefits to humankind. But, given that biological systems are fundamentally shaped by light, there have inevitably been a wide array of environmental impacts. Studies have particularly focussed on the effects on individual organisms, and have highlighted consequences of artificial nighttime light for physiology, foraging, daily movements, migratory behaviour, reproductive behaviour, and mortality. Whilst population level effects are predicted to follow, these remain poorly understood. Moreover, it is unknown how these change with the intensity and the spectrum of artificial nighttime light. This means that it is difficult to make the best possible recommendations as to how artificial nighttime lighting (e.g. street lighting) might be modified to optimise the trade-off between human benefits and environmental costs. This is particularly significant at a time of large scale and rapid introduction of new lighting technology and use of 'smart illumination'; many street and other lighting systems are moving to 'whiter' lights, commonly using light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and central management systems are increasingly enabling more flexible approaches to the implementation of public lighting. In this project we will determine the impact of artificial light at night of different intensity and spectrum on population dynamics, using an established aphid-parasitoid-hyperparasitoid experimental study system.