Photo by homeanddecor.com
Although the titles are similar, this post and the previous one from today are not about related subjects other than light and darkness. The lights referred to in this post’s title are artificial ones on land, not bioluminescence under the sea. Lights from houses and street lamps that distract moths from pollinating plants that need their pollen transported, and often result in moth deaths (by predation or getting trapped indoors). Sarah DeWeerdt reports for Conservation Magazine on a recent UK study on the disruption of pollination by light:
Everyone knows moths are attracted to light, but scientists are just now learning that this attraction may have negative consequences for other parts of the ecosystem. Moths drawn to artificial sources of light may do less work pollinating plants, according to research published last week in the journal Global Change Biology.
Researchers sampled moths at 40 sites along hedgerows bordering agricultural fields in Oxfordshire, England. Half of the study sites were lit with streetlights and half were not. Surprisingly, no one had previously investigated how this very common source of artificial lighting affects the behavior and ecological function of moths.
Organikos 