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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Darren Evans
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is eroding natural light cycles and thereby changing species distributions and activity patterns. Yet little is known about how ecological interaction networks respond to this global change driver. Here, we assess the scientific basis of the current understanding of community-wide ALAN impacts. Based on current knowledge, we conceptualize and review four major pathways by which ALAN may affect ecological interaction networks by (i) impacting primary production, (ii) acting as an environmental filter affecting species survival, (iii) driving the movement and distribution of species, and (iv) changing functional roles and niches by affecting activity patterns. Using an allometric-trophic network model, we then test how a shift in temporal activity patterns for diurnal, nocturnal and crepuscular species impacts food web stability. The results indicate that diel niche shifts can severely impact community persistence by altering the temporal overlap between species, which leads to changes in interaction strengths and rewiring of networks. ALAN can thereby lead to biodiversity loss through the homogenization of temporal niches. This integrative framework aims to advance a predictive understanding of community-level and ecological-network consequences of ALAN and their cascading effects on ecosystem functioning. This article is part of the theme issue 'Light pollution in complex ecological systems'.
Author(s): Sanders D, Hirt MR, Brose U, Evans DM, Gaston KJ, Gauzens B, Ryser R
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
Year: 2023
Volume: 378
Issue: 1892
Online publication date: 30/10/2023
Acceptance date: 13/06/2023
ISSN (print): 0962-8436
ISSN (electronic): 1471-2970
URL: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0368
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0368
PubMed id: 37899020
Data Access Statement: The data are provided in the electronic supplementary material: How artificial light at night may rewire ecological networks: concepts and models. Figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6843482
