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超过任何其他土地覆盖类型，导致生态系统的结构和功能发生巨大变化。了解城市化对物种和种群的影响对于希望抵消负面影响的保护生物学家至关重要。城市化和人类活动的干扰对野生动物造成不利影响，造成生态不适应行为。已经确定了人为噪音、道路、工业发展和人工照明的增加对野生动物的负面影响。虽然研究现在正在解决人为噪音的影响，但直到最近才对与城市化相关的人工光污染的生态影响产生了兴趣。光污染是一个日益严重的全球性问题，影响着每个有人居住的大陆，在许多国家覆盖了100%的土地面积。随着人口的增长和城市化程度的提高，全球光污染水平将不断上升。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，并作为生物指示剂对与人为变化相关的一系列因素作出反应。蝙蝠与它们的昆虫猎物一起形成了一个理想的系统，用于调查光污染的影响。全球近四分之一的蝙蝠物种受到威胁，对种群的主要潜在威胁是人口增长对资源的压力。蝙蝠栖息地受到越来越多的干扰，从郊区的发展和相关的人工照明，栖息地和觅食区的栖息地的连接是至关重要的许多蝙蝠种群的生存。在英国，对蝙蝠种群的威胁导致种群受到英国和欧洲立法的保护。在我们以前的研究中，我们使用基于实地的实验，我们表明，最常见的英国路灯（高压钠）片段蝙蝠栖息地，导致蝙蝠改变他们的行为与潜在的负面保护后果。我们为光干扰对野生动物的影响提供了新的见解。我们的研究结果表明，光干扰对蝙蝠的影响因物种而异，因此比以前认为的更复杂。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联系。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。了解动物的觅食和测距行为与光干扰的关系将有助于我们了解种群如何适应环境变化以及城市化进程带来的未来挑战。在确定了照明对蝙蝠的负面影响后，我们已经建立了研究对个体行为影响的基础。这将扩大我们对光干扰在可能的健身后果的背景下的影响的理解。我们还将研究新兴照明技术的影响，这些技术将很快在蝙蝠行为和昆虫丰度，多样性以及对蝙蝠回声定位的回避反应方面得到广泛应用。与政策制定者合作，项目成果将用于创建指导手册，告知开发商，生态学家和规划师等利益相关者，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最前沿，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NERC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.