Circadian disruption by light pollution: extent, health consequences and mitigation in songbirds

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项目编号	NE/S005773/1
	Circadian disruption by light pollution: extent, health consequences and mitigation in songbirds
	Davide Michelangelo Dominoni
主持机构	University of Glasgow
项目开始年	2019
	2019-03-01
项目结束日期	2023-02-28
资助机构	UK-NERC
项目类别	Research Grant
项目经费	1097598(GBP)
国家	英国
英文摘要	Urbanisation is increasing worldwide at an unprecedented rate and the majority of people now lives in urban areas. This process dramatically alters the spatial environment, fragmenting natural habitat and leading to biodiversity loss. However, a far-less appreciated effect of urbanisation is the modification of the temporal environment. Specifically, the presence of artificial light at night disrupts the natural alternation of light and darkness that organisms use to synchronise their daily, lunar and seasonal rhythms. Such rhythms are one of the most pervasive features of life on Earth, from bacteria to humans, evolved for millions of years in a world where cycles of light and darkness have been extremely predictable. Prominent examples are the activity patterns of animals, diel rhythms of hormones and metabolism, and seasonal reproduction. Studies in humans have linked disruption of circadian rhythms by artificial light at night to negative health consequences, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, despite the increasing interest in the ecological effects of artificial light at night, we still lack an understanding of the extent to which it might cause circadian disruption also in wild species living in urban areas, what the outcomes of such disruption will be, and what we can do about it. As with other anthropogenic stressors, it is likely that species differ greatly in their responses. Hence, in this project we will firstly use state-of-the-art biotelemetry to assess how urban life affects circadian rhythms in a carefully selected range of wild bird species that differ in sensitivity to light. We will then experimentally test the effects of artificial light at night on targeted physiological pathways related to health in birds. Last, we will examine the potential for mitigating the effects of light pollution through partial night lighting, a strategy that is largely neglected in the context of circadian disruption, but that could provide both ecological and economic benefits. By integrating these approaches, our project will enable the most comprehensive understanding of both the scale and the mechanisms of the problem of light pollution to date, and explore the basis for a novel mitigation strategy.
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文献类型	项目
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/87568
专题	环境与发展全球科技态势
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Davide Michelangelo Dominoni.Circadian disruption by light pollution: extent, health consequences and mitigation in songbirds.2019.