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之下，人造光将夜空亮度提高了自然照明水平的10%以上。到2025年，世界上超过80%的人口将生活在光污染的天空下，这引起了人们对人类和野生动物福祉的担忧。这个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奏。它还将测试夜间光线如何影响鸟类后代。最后，一项综合教育计划旨在培养下一代青年科学家。拟议项目将：1）通过与社区的联系提供切实的成果，2）为解决光污染提供关键信息，3）为教育成果做出重大贡献，特别是对代表性不足的学生。项目结果将通过将光数据转换为光工程师使用的指数来增强科学和技术理解，这将告知工程师最环保的人工光源。反过来，这项研究将通过为有关光污染生物效应的公共政策提供信息而造福社会。PI将与飞利浦照明公司合作开发灯箱，作为小学的教育工具。此外，该教育计划还包括与Sierra内华达州的合作伙伴关系，为家庭STEM之夜开发一个“ALAN（夜间人工照明）和时钟”站，覆盖更广泛的家庭、教师和管理人员。这个项目的研究结果和教育项目一起，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，电灯照明已经淹没了全世界。 ALAN深刻地破坏了光周期的时间组织，而电灯的日益多样化也为光提供了不同于任何自然光的光谱。几十年的研究表明，光是调节昼夜节律的最重要的时间线索。越来越多的证据表明，光污染会导致生理破坏和病理学。然而，导致这些下游效应的分子机制仍不清楚。该项目将测试短波长ALAN是否通过昼夜节律破坏来降低健康。该提案的目的是：1）评估观察到的ALAN的生理和行为影响是否是由于中枢和外周生物钟的变化，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。我们将结合联合收割机现场和实验室实验，以测试夜间照明与修改后的光谱对行为，生理，生殖和基因表达的影响。通过揭示对人造光的反应机制，我们将能够测量，预测和改善光污染的潜在有害影响，特别是因为破坏性影响取决于光的光谱组成。将遗传学、机械学和行为学方法相结合是揭示光污染的直接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、激励竞争研究计划（EPSCoR）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

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.