{"id":208,"date":"2018-03-27T08:58:38","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T08:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=208"},"modified":"2018-05-29T23:46:20","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T23:46:20","slug":"light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/","title":{"rendered":"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Gareth Willmer<\/p>\n

You could call it fatal attraction. Drawn by artificial lights in our brightening night-time world, animals find their lives in peril.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n

Fledgling birds disorientated by lights can collide with human structures on the ground and then get hit by cars, or become more vulnerable to predation, starvation or dehydration. Or newly hatched turtles may set out in the opposite direction to the sea, exposing themselves to similar dangers.<\/p>\n

And our skies are getting brighter. A recent\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0found that our planet\u2019s artificially lit outdoor area grew by about 2% each year between 2012 and 2016, while already lit areas brightened at the same rate.<\/p>\n

\u2018Global growth in lighting at that kind of level is quite profound,\u2019 said Kevin Gaston, a professor of biodiversity and conservation at the University of Exeter, UK. \u2018We know that lighting is getting steadily worse.\u2019<\/p>\n

Researchers say one big problem has been a lack of awareness about light pollution. That is growing, but in the meantime, certain factors are potentially heightening its impact.<\/p>\n

For example, white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been swiftly replacing traditional outdoor lighting such as yellow sodium street lights because of their higher energy efficiency. But because they emit light across a broad part of the visible spectrum, LEDs can affect a wider range of photosensitive cells in different organisms.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

‘The negative consequences of light pollution are as unknown by the population as those of smoking in the 80s.’<\/p>\n

Professor Oscar Corcho, Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid, Spain<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

In a project called ECOLIGHTS FOR SEABIRDS, which ran from 2014 to the end of 2016, researchers found that the threat to fledgling shearwaters of being grounded on Phillip Island in south-eastern Australia was higher from broader-spectra metal halide and LED lights than from sodium lights. This suggests that using certain types of lights in different areas could be used to limit the effects on these birds.<\/p>\n

Grounded<\/strong><\/p>\n

Separate studies on the Spanish island of Tenerife found that half of the Cory\u2019s shearwater fledglings grounded around lights were within 3 kilometres of their nest sites and tended to be from inland colonies.<\/p>\n

Dr Airam Rodr\u00edguez, a postdoctoral researcher at Do\u00f1ana Biological Station in Seville, Spain, who worked on the project, said that knowing such information makes it easier to do things such as arrange safe corridors between breeding colonies and the ocean.<\/p>\n

Many effects of light pollution on such seabirds have been poorly understood before, because of factors such as their breeding in remote locations and the fact they need to be tracked at night. Advances in technology are helping though, with the team using miniature GPS trackers and nocturnal high-resolution satellite imagery to follow the birds\u2019 routes.<\/p>\n

Dr Rodr\u00edguez said his team is now using GPS to look in more detail at what happens to birds rescued after being grounded by lights during their first days out on the ocean. He would also like to look more into the physiology of their eyes to find out which wavelengths the birds are more sensitive to.<\/p>\n

Another little-known facet has been how much artificial lighting affects whole communities of organisms rather than just individual species, but recent research shows the effects can be significant.<\/p>\n

As part of a project called ECOLIGHT, which finished last year, researchers set up 54 outdoor experimental environments, known as mesocosms, at the University of Exeter. These took the form of mesh-covered containers that\u00a0held different combinations of plants, invertebrates and types of lighting, or were unlit. From this, they discovered that lighting seemed to suppress the flowering of the trefoil\u00a0Lotus pedunculatus<\/em>, and, in turn, the pea aphid population that feeds on them.<\/p>\n

The team found similar effects in an experiment with bean plants and aphids.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Container-based
Container-based experiments at the University of Exeter showed that lighting seemed to suppress the flowering of pea and bean plants and affected the aphid population that feeds on them. Image credit – James Duffy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Pervasive<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof. Gaston, who was principal investigator on ECOLIGHT and also used field experiments to investigate the impact of light pollution, said: \u2018This leads to the conclusion that lighting is having pretty pervasive ecological impacts. The effects are exceedingly widespread and are shaping the way that communities are structured \u2013 which was something that people hadn\u2019t observed before.\u2019<\/p>\n

He also pointed to other research showing that bud burst in trees can happen a week earlier in the brightest compared with the darkest areas. \u2018When we\u2019ve discovered these kinds of things for climate change and they\u2019ve shifted by about a week, we\u2019ve said that\u2019s profoundly worrying,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

His team is now looking more into the impacts of different intensities and colours of lights to build a more detailed picture.<\/p>\n

In addition, they are scouring through images of Earth photographed by astronauts on the International Space Station so they can map how the colours of lights are changing as cities introduce more white LEDs.<\/p>\n

Prof. Gaston explained that satellites are effectively colour-blind to the shift to white light, so using the pictures that astronauts take is a good way to track this, with about half a million pictures taken at night between 2003 and 2015.<\/p>\n

This work complements the Cities at Night project, a citizen science initiative that gets help from volunteers to classify, locate and georeference these pictures.<\/p>\n

\n
\"A<\/a>
A composite image of the Earth at night shows changes in light intensity between 2012 and 2016 including, for example, rapid electrification in India. Image credit – NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Also involved in Cities at Night is the STARS4ALL project, coordinated by Oscar Corcho, a professor at the Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid in Spain, which acts as a platform to raise awareness of the issues involved in light pollution and inspire further research and better planning in lighting programmes. It seeks to engage people through methods such as games, broadcasting of astronomical events and a citizen-sensor network of low-cost photometers for people to measure light pollution in their area.<\/p>\n

\u2018The negative consequences of light pollution are as unknown by the population as those of smoking in the (19)80s,\u2019 said Prof. Corcho. \u2018It\u2019s still a very difficult problem to understand. Light pollution does not have the same immediate effects over animals as other forms of pollution.\u2019<\/p>\n

Regulation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof. Corcho said that one of STARS4ALL\u2019s main aims this year is to run a petition on its website to ask for more overarching regulation to avoid light pollution at an EU level. STARS4ALL will collect signatures from citizens and hopes to present the petition in Brussels by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

He says the good news is that there are easy fixes. \u2018There are good technology options. For instance, there are types of lamps that could be used that are both respectful to the environment in terms of light pollution and at the same time as energy-efficient as white LEDs.\u2019 He cites PC amber LEDs, for example.<\/p>\n

If we move to solve these issues, there might well be an added bonus for us all. \u2018As an indirect result\u2026 our recommendations for public lighting may result in having more populated places where we can see more and more stars in our sky,\u2019 said Prof. Corcho.<\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Gareth Willmer You could call it fatal attraction. Drawn by artificial lights in our brightening night-time world, animals find their lives in peril. Fledgling birds disorientated by lights can collide with human structures on the ground and then get hit by cars, or become more vulnerable to predation, starvation or dehydration. Or newly hatched … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[138,137,79,24],"class_list":["post-208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment","tag-animals","tag-light-pollution","tag-research","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\nLight pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Gareth Willmer You could call it fatal attraction. Drawn by artificial lights in our brightening night-time world, animals find their lives in peril. Fledgling birds disorientated by lights can collide with human structures on the ground and then get hit by cars, or become more vulnerable to predation, starvation or dehydration. Or newly hatched ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-27T08:58:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-29T23:46:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Horizon Magazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Horizon Magazine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679\"},\"headline\":\"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-27T08:58:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-29T23:46:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1223,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"animals\",\"light pollution\",\"research\",\"science\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Earth, Energy & Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2018\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/\",\"name\":\"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-27T08:58:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-29T23:46:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2018\\\/03\\\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1512,\"caption\":\"Light pollution can be problematic for animals like the Cory's shearwater. Image credit - Airam Rodr\u00edguez (Estaci\u00f3n Biol\u00f3gica de Do\u00f1ana CSIC), licensed under CC BY 4.0\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/208\\\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/horizon.magazine.eu\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/twitter.com\\\/HorizonMagEU\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/horizonmagazine\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour","og_description":"by Gareth Willmer You could call it fatal attraction. Drawn by artificial lights in our brightening night-time world, animals find their lives in peril. Fledgling birds disorientated by lights can collide with human structures on the ground and then get hit by cars, or become more vulnerable to predation, starvation or dehydration. Or newly hatched ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu","article_published_time":"2018-03-27T08:58:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-29T23:46:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1512,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Horizon Magazine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Horizon Magazine","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/"},"author":{"name":"Horizon Magazine","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679"},"headline":"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour","datePublished":"2018-03-27T08:58:38+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-29T23:46:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/"},"wordCount":1223,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg","keywords":["animals","light pollution","research","science"],"articleSection":["Earth, Energy & Environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2018","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/","name":"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-27T08:58:38+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-29T23:46:20+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg","width":2000,"height":1512,"caption":"Light pollution can be problematic for animals like the Cory's shearwater. Image credit - Airam Rodr\u00edguez (Estaci\u00f3n Biol\u00f3gica de Do\u00f1ana CSIC), licensed under CC BY 4.0"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/208\/light-pollution-is-altering-plant-and-animal-behaviour\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Light pollution is altering plant and animal behaviour"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/8f23522ba58f477f04dd574e1034f679","name":"Horizon Magazine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/407bd816be829798850d5e7f646c4137f70c86c6af6c761b67a6ea80c364ffa4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Horizon Magazine"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/horizon.magazine.eu","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/HorizonMagEU"],"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/horizonmagazine\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Cory\u2019s_shearwater_night_right.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-3m","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1964,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1964\/beach-bots-sea-raptors-and-marine-toolsets-mobilised-to-get-rid-of-marine-litter\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":0},"title":"Beach bots, sea \u2018raptors\u2019 and marine toolsets mobilised to get rid of marine litter","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"February 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Often quickly disposed of but lasting in the environment for tens to hundreds of years, plastic litter pollutes our seas worldwide, creating a serious threat to wildlife and contributing to climate change as they break down. \u00a0 \u2018It\u2019s the scale of it \u2013 it\u2019s a global problem. You can guarantee\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/02\/Feb-2-photo-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1350,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1350\/air-pollution-affects-brain-development-but-when-does-the-damage-start\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":1},"title":"Air pollution affects brain development – but when does the damage start?","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"July 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Ian Le Guillou The emergency rooms in Barcelona were collapsing under the pressure. Hundreds of patients were arriving in desperate need as they struggled to breathe, while intensive care units struggled to cope with the sudden influx of respiratory problems. Epidemiologists scrambled to trace the source of the outbreak.\u00a0 This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"90% of brain development happens by the age of four, so scientists want to understand the effects of air pollution at the earliest stages of life. Image credit - Unsplash\/Pixabay, licenced under Unsplash licence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wood-bridge-cute-sitting-SM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wood-bridge-cute-sitting-SM.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wood-bridge-cute-sitting-SM.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wood-bridge-cute-sitting-SM.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wood-bridge-cute-sitting-SM.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":172,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/172\/ultrafine-pollution-particles-create-air-of-menace\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":2},"title":"Ultrafine pollution particles create air of menace","author":"Aisling Irwin","date":"March 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"An air quality study has for the first time detected nano-sized particles of air pollution in children\u2019s urine. With a diameter of just 100 nanometers\u00a0- a thousandth of the width of a human hair -\u00a0these ultrafine particles are the smallest particles found in air pollution and have been linked to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"As many as 6.5 million premature deaths every year are attributed to air pollution, according to the World Health Organization.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Traffic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Traffic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Traffic.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/Traffic.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1257,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1257\/qa-china-and-europe-likely-to-see-different-effect-of-coronavirus-related-air-pollution-drop\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":3},"title":"Q&A: China and Europe likely to see different effect of coronavirus-related air pollution drop","author":"Catherine Collins","date":"April 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In March,\u00a0a study revealed\u00a0that between 50,000 and 100,000 deaths could be avoided this year in China if air pollution stayed at the same level as during the coronavirus lockdown. While other parts of the world have also seen improvements in air quality, the impact in Europe is likely to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Coronavirus lockdowns have caused air pollution to drop. Science is probing whether air pollution worsens the effects of coronavirus, with recent studies including in Italy suggesting there\u2019s a link between polluted areas and higher fatality risk. Image credit - European Space Agency\/ licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Nitrogen_dioxide_concentrations_over_Italy-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Nitrogen_dioxide_concentrations_over_Italy-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Nitrogen_dioxide_concentrations_over_Italy-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Nitrogen_dioxide_concentrations_over_Italy-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Nitrogen_dioxide_concentrations_over_Italy-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/04\/Nitrogen_dioxide_concentrations_over_Italy-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2196,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2196\/fighting-deadly-air-pollution-in-cities-with-sensors-and-satellites\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":4},"title":"Fighting deadly air pollution in cities with sensors and satellites","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"November 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Urban smog is a major threat to human health. New sensors and data-collection techniques will help to improve air quality. By\u00a0\u00a0SARAH WILD Each day, we take about 20 000 breaths. The oxygen in the air nourishes the cells in our bodies. But when the air we breathe contains harmful particulate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/11\/1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/11\/1-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/11\/1-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/11\/1-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/11\/1-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/11\/1-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2566,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2566\/one-health-an-all-encompassing-strategy-for-better-well-being\/","url_meta":{"origin":208,"position":5},"title":"One Health: an all-encompassing strategy for better well-being","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"November 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Understanding the deep connections among human, animal and environmental health is more important than ever, according to the two heads of a groundbreaking EU research project. By \u00a0Horizon Staff In an era of interconnected global threats, the \u201cOne Health\u201d idea recognises that human well-being is tightly tied to that of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/13.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/13.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/13.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/13.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/13.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/11\/13.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}