Light pollution can have positive effects on wildlife, study shows
I have been intrigued by the natural and financial benefits of turning the lights off to create dark skies in a number of rural places. This latest study suggests I may have missed a key benefit of night time illuminations.
It tells us: “Light pollution can have positive effects on wildlife by helping migratory birds find more food at night, a new study has shown, contrasting with previous research which has emphasised the negative effects of artificial light. A team from the University of Exeter studied how electrical lighting and gas flares affected the feeding habits of the common redshank (Tringa totanus) in the Forth estuary, eastern Scotland. The estuary’s salt marsh and mudflats are home to hundreds of thousands of birds that migrate from the Arctic each winter, but is also a heavily industrialised area where Grangemouth oil refinery and Longannet power station are located.
The study found that at night, birds in areas that were continuously illuminated foraged for longer, and were able to locate food by sight, rather than touch, compared with those under darker night skies. This meant they could stock up on more food to fuel their spring flight.”