Artificial light at night affects plant–herbivore interactions

Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 60, pp. 400–410

Abstract

Abstract Artificial light at night (ALAN) affects species' physiology and behaviour, and the interactions between species. Despite the importance of plants as primary producers, it remains poorly understood whether and how effects of ALAN on plants cascade through the food web. We assess the extent to which ALAN of different spectra result in plant‐mediated insect herbivory damage. In a 6‐month field experiment, we exposed plants of differing palatability to three colours of ALAN and a dark control, and assessed plant traits (growth rate, leaf size, foliar density and thickness) and insect herbivory (represented by insect damage as loss of foliage to leaf‐chewing insects, and gall abundance by phloem‐feeding herbivory). We found evidence for plant trait‐mediated ALAN effects on herbivory for oak, but not for blueberry. In oak, ALAN of different colours changed the direction of relationships of insect damage with relative growth rate and with leaf thickness. Moreover, we found that the effects of ALAN on herbivory damage differed markedly between forest types within the same locale, particularly in the red light treatment. Synthesis and applications . Our results provide evidence that continuous night‐time light, as provided by street lighting around the world, affects food web interactions. The nature of these effects differed by species and appeared to depend on forest type and the light spectrum employed, thus underlining the context dependency of ALAN in different ecosystems and environmental settings. These findings highlight the complexity of using spectral manipulation as a mitigation measure, and the need for further consideration of ALAN in environmental management and planning, to limit the exposure and impact of cascading effects of artificial light at night on food webs and communities.

Authors 5

1. Ellen Cieraad corresponding Aachen Institute of Environmental Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands Institute of Environmental Science

   Leiden University · Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology · Te Pūkenga

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Environmental Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands

   Nelson‐Marlborough Institute of Technology ‐ Te Pūkenga Nelson New Zealand

   Institute of Environmental Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Emily F. Strange Aachen Institute of Environmental Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands Institute of Environmental Science

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Environmental Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands

   Institute of Environmental Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

3. Melanie Flink Aachen Institute of Environmental Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands Institute of Environmental Science

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Environmental Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands

   Institute of Environmental Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

4. Maarten J. J. Schrama Aachen Institute of Environmental Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands Naturalis Biodiversity Center Leiden The Netherlands Institute of Environmental Science Naturalis Biodiversity Center

   Leiden University · Naturalis Biodiversity Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Environmental Science Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands

   Naturalis Biodiversity Center Leiden The Netherlands

   Institute of Environmental Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

   Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

5. Kamiel Spoelstra

   Netherlands Institute of Ecology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Animal Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands

   Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands