Effects of artificial light on multi-trophic population dynamics

自生命首次出现以来，自然光的日周期、月周期和季节周期一直是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，由于人造光进入夜间环境，这些自然模式被大大破坏了。这源于多种来源，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%的陆地面积直接或间接（通过天光——人造夜光被大气中的分子或气溶胶散射，向上发射或反射）经历了人工夜间照明，并且每年以6%左右的速度增长。这一问题的严重程度可以从卫星和宇航员经常复制的地球夜间图像中得到证明。将人造光引入夜间环境无疑给人类带来了重大而实质性的好处。但是，鉴于生物系统基本上是由光形成的，因此不可避免地会产生一系列广泛的环境影响。研究特别集中在对个体生物的影响上，并强调了人造夜间灯光对生理、觅食、日常运动、迁徙行为、生殖行为和死亡率的影响。虽然预计会对人口水平产生影响，但人们对这些影响仍然知之甚少。此外，还不知道这些是如何随着夜间人造光的强度和光谱而变化的。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最好的建议。在大规模和快速引入新照明技术和使用“智能照明”的时代，这一点尤为重要；许多街道和其他照明系统正在转向“更白”的灯，通常使用发光二极管（led），中央管理系统越来越多地采用更灵活的方法来实施公共照明。在本项目中，我们将利用已建立的蚜虫-拟寄生虫-超拟寄生虫实验研究系统，确定不同强度和光谱的夜间人造光对种群动态的影响。

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.