O impacto da poluição luminosa sobre o homem e o meio ambiente é fonte de preocupação crescente por parte dos ambientalistas. Ao mesmo tempo a população demanda quantidades crescentes de iluminação artificial para aumentar a segurança e o conforto. Com a finalidade de satisfazer a necessidade humana de iluminação com equipamentos de impacto mínimo sobre o ecossistema, realizamos o teste de diferentes equipamentos comerciais de iluminação com diferentes lâmpadas e utilizando filtros seletivos de comprimento de onda da radiação. A hipótese básica do experimento é que o homem e os insetos apresentam sensibilidade visual diferente por comprimento de onda e que a atração da iluminação artificial sobre os insetos não representa um fototropismo. Os insetos utilizam a radiação artificial como baliza. Na verdade, utilizam o contraste entre radiação de onda curta (UV e violeta) e onda média (azul e verde) para identificar o espaço no qual voar. Selecionando os comprimentos de ondas da iluminação artificial é, portanto, possível minimizar a atração. Durante dois anos foi realizada uma campanha de coleta de insetos utilizando armadilhas luminosas. Quatro tipos de sistema de iluminação foram comparados: lâmpada vapor de mercúrio a alta pressão (Hg); lâmpada a vapor de sódio a alta pressão (Na) sem e com filtro (Hg_f; Na_f) e uma armadilha sem lâmpada. Os resultados do experimento mostram que a armadilha Hg atraiu em média 70 insetos; a armadilha Na 45; a armadilha Hg_f 23 e a armadilha Na_f 16, contra apenas 8 no testemunho. Os resultados confirmam amplamente as hipóteses básicas e oferece um poderoso instrumento para a elaboração de sistemas de iluminação de impacto no que tange os insetos / The impact of light pollution on man and on the ecosystem is a rising concern among ecologists however, in the same time the human population is demanding more lighting for safety and comfort. In order to satisfy human lighting needs with a minimum impact on the ecosystem, manly on insects, we tested commercial equipments using different types of lights and using selective wavelength filters. The hypothesis underlying the experiment was that humans and insects have a different visual sensibility for wavelength, but insect attraction for lighting is not just a phototropism. Insects use artificial lighting as a landmark for navigation and contrast between short wave (UV and blue) and medium wave (green) radiation is used to screen the space. Selecting wavelength emission of the lighting systems could be possible to minimize insect attraction. In a two years long campaign we undertook insect collection tests using insect traps. We compared four lighting systems: high-pressure mercury bulb (Hg), high-pressure sodium bulb(Na) without and with UV filter (Hg_f; Na_f) and a lighting fixture with an insect trap without bulb as a control. The results of the test have shown that Hg lamp attracted an average of 70 insects by night, Na lamp 45, Hg_f 23, Na_f 16 ad Test lamp 8. The result confirm the proposed hypothesis and can be used in the elaboration of minimum impact lighting fixtures.

Submitted by Marlene Santos (marlene.bc.ufg@gmail.com) on 2014-10-03T19:08:21Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Maria Cristina Xavier e Azevedo - 2013.pdf: 10660866 bytes, checksum: 34764d44e597ebdf9e2054b44b93830c (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jaqueline Silva (jtas29@gmail.com) on 2014-10-03T20:43:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Maria Cristina Xavier e Azevedo - 2013.pdf: 10660866 bytes, checksum: 34764d44e597ebdf9e2054b44b93830c (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-03T20:43:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Maria Cristina Xavier e Azevedo - 2013.pdf: 10660866 bytes, checksum: 34764d44e597ebdf9e2054b44b93830c (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-14 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation aimed to fulfill a general analysis of the intensity of the light pollution triggered by urban growth occurred in the Cerrado biome and in the Metropolitan Region of Goiânia in the period from 1992 to 2010. To this end, the present work drew on remote sensing data, specifically of the images of the sensor system DMSP-OLS (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System) and of Geoprocessing techniques for spatialization and measurement of light pollution. As part of the results, it is recognized that the light spots are concentrated mainly in metropolis and major urban centers, in consequence of the largest population concentration. In the metropolitan region of Goiânia, the capital has the highest indexes of consumption of electrical energy and the largest population concentration of the state; consequently, holds the largest spot of the light pollution in the region. / A presente dissertação de mestrado teve como objetivo geral realizar uma análise da intensidade da poluição luminosa desencadeada pelo crescimento urbano ocorrido no bioma Cerrado e na Região Metropolitana de Goiânia no período de 1992 a 2010. Para tanto, o presente trabalho valeu-se de dados de sensoriamento remoto, especificamente das imagens do sistema sensor DMSP-OLS (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System) e de técnicas de geoprocessamento para espacialização e mensuração da poluição luminosa. Como parte dos resultados, reconhece-se que as manchas de luz concentram-se, sobretudo, nas metrópoles e nos principais centros urbanos, em consequência da maior concentração populacional. Na Região Metropolitana de Goiânia, a capital apresenta os maiores índices de consumo de energia elétrica e a maior concentração populacional do Estado; consequentemente, possui a maior mancha de poluição luminosa da Região.

In 2012, a large area within the Mackenzie District of Te Waipounamu/South Island of Aotearoa/New Zealand was designated as the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve (AMIDSR). While lighting restrictions within the AMIDSR promise to protect starlight visibility in that location for the foreseeable future, this thesis considers instruments provided by the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) that could be applied in protection of starlight as a natural resource of cultural significance to Māori. The celestial realm is a vital element of Māori cosmology. Tātai aroraki/Māori astronomy was responsible for the Polynesian discovery and settlement of this nation. Traditionally the moon and stars also played a role in mahika kai/food gathering and other cultural practices. Tātai aroraki is a body of knowledge that was developed through continued observation and use of the natural resource of starlight, and both the knowledge and the natural resource itself are embedded within the whole mahika kai resource chain. Interviews with local kaumātua/elders and a Māori astrophysicist were conducted to determine whether tātai aroraki is still practiced and important to contemporary Kāi Tahu, an iwi/tribe with close ties to the Mackenzie District. Results confirmed that despite the eroding effects that colonisation, urbanisation and new technologies have had on traditional environmental knowledge in general, remnants of tātai arorangi remain and are still used by a few Kāi Tahu individuals and families. For many Māori, their cultural identity is closely linked to traditional knowledge and practices, a form of cultural capital. A strong cultural identity is an important element of cultural wellbeing. Applying the RMA to the protection of starlight from light pollution would protect a resource important for mahika kai and therefore indirectly enhance the potential for Kāi Tahu to provide for their cultural wellbeing. As the RMA is a national statute this has implications for iwi in other regions of Aotearoa who have similar astronomical traditions. This thesis extends previous research on the AMIDSR within a growing body of scholarship on starlight protection. It also makes a contribution to RMA scholarship and Actor-Network Theory literature on the natural environment by including the celestial realm within resource networks.

Global light pollution is increasing worldwide, nearly doubling over the past 25 years, and the encroachment of artificial light into remaining dark areas threatens to disturb natural rhythms of wildlife species, such as bats. Artificial light impacts the behaviour of insectivorous bats in numerous ways, including changing foraging behaviour and altering prey selection. I conducted two manipulative field experiments to investigate effects of light pollution on prey selection in an insectivorous bat community. In the first experiment, I collected fecal samples from 6 species of insectivorous bats in naturally dark and artificially lit conditions and identified prey items using molecular methods. Proportional differences of identified prey were not consistent and appear to be species specific. Red bats, little brown bats, and gray bats exhibited expected increases in moths at lit sites. Beetle-specialist big brown bats had a sizeable increase in beetle consumption around lights, while tri-colored bats and evening bats showed little change in moth consumption between experimental conditions. Dietary overlap was high between experimental conditions within each species, and dietary breadth only changed significantly between experimental conditions in one species, the little brown bat. Our results, building on others, demonstrate that bat-insect interactions may be more nuanced than the common assertion that moth consumption increases around lights. Thus, no single policy is likely to be universally effective in minimizing effects of light pollution on foraging bats because of differences in bat and insect communities, and their interactions. Our work highlights the need for greater mechanistic understanding of bat-light interactions to predict which species will be most affected by light pollution, and to more effectively craft management strategies to minimize unnatural shifts in prey selection caused by artificial lights. In the second experiment, I again focused on changes in foraging due to light pollution by investigating expected knock-on physiological effects, which have not been studied. I measured plasma ß-hydroxybutyrate concentrations from six species of insectivorous bats in naturally dark and artificially lit conditions to investigate effects of light pollution on energy metabolism. We also recorded bat calls acoustically to measure differences in activity levels between experimental conditions. Blood metabolite level and acoustic activity data suggest species-specific changes in foraging around lights. In red bats (Lasiurus borealis), ß-hydroxybutyrate levels at lit sites were highest early in the night followed by a decrease. Acoustic data suggest pronounced peaks in activity at lit sites early in the night. In red bats on dark nights and in the other species in this community, which seem to avoid lights, ß-hydroxybutyrate remained constant, or possibly increased slightly throughout the night. Taken together, our results suggest red bats actively forage around lights and may gain some energetic benefit, while other species in the community avoid lit areas and thus gain no such benefit. Our results demonstrate that artificial light may have a bifurcating effect on bat communities, whereby a few species benefit through concentrated prey resources, yet most do not. Further, this may concentrate light-intolerant species into limited dark refugia, thereby increasing competition for depauperate insect communities, as insects are drawn to artificially lit spaces. It appears then that artificial lights change the environment in such a way as to benefit some species in insectivorous bat communities.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is becoming a greater threat to nocturnal species. Aside from the overall increase in light output, replacing outdated monochromatic street lighting with light-emitting diode (LED) lights with a broad emission spectrum could raise this issue more. However, studies evaluating the effect of artificial lights on nocturnal species, such as moths, are scarce. This study examines any variations in moth attraction as well as any other sex-based behavioural differences (mating behaviour – wing fanning, trajectory-circular movement, overall movement time) between male and female moths in the presence of warm-white light. This study used warm-white light LED (2718 K) and Galleria mellonella moth, reared in the lab and completed the experiment under standardised conditions in an enclosed setting. I found the male moths (100%)  were significantly (p = 0.024) attracted to warm-white light LED compare to female moths (37%). While other behaviours such as wing fanning, circular movement, overall moving time, and favoured light illuminance for rest weren't significantly different (p > 0.05). In the future, it will be important to investigate the effects of warm-white light LED with different lower CCT (< 2718K) on moths, as well as the sex differences in their behaviour both in a controlled and an open environment. This will help authorities to decide on outdoor lighting systems in different countries and continents.

No description available.

Sensory pollutants such as anthropogenic noise and night lighting now expose much of the world to evolutionarily novel sound and night lighting conditions, which can have detrimental effects on humans and wildlife. In my first chapter, we exposed wild Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) nestlings to noise, light, and combination (i.e., noise and light) treatments. Nests exposed to noise and light together experienced less predation than control and light-exposed nests, and noise-exposed nests experienced less predation than control nests, yet overall nest success was only higher in noise-exposed nests compared to light-exposed nests. Although exposure to light decreased nestling body condition and evidence was mixed for the singular effects of noise or light on nestling size, those exposed to noise and light together were smaller across several metrics than nestlings in control nests. Our results support previous research on the singular effects of either stimuli, including potential benefits, such as reduced nest predation with noise exposure. However, our results also suggest that noise and light together can negatively affect some aspects of reproduction more strongly than either sensory pollutant alone. This finding is especially important given that these stimuli tend to covary and are projected to increase dramatically in the next several decades. In my second chapter, we used a field-based manipulation to explore the role of audition in biodiversity perception and self-reported well-being of hikers. We used a “phantom chorus” consisting of hidden speakers playing bird vocalizations to experimentally increase audible birdsong biodiversity during “on” and “off” blocks on two hiking trails and surveyed hikers to record their self-reported perceptions of avian biodiversity and concepts reflective of attention restoration. We found that hikers exposed to the phantom chorus reported higher levels of restorative effects compared to those that experienced ambient conditions on both trails, although the causal relationships differed for each trail. Specifically, increased restorative effects were directly linked to the phantom chorus on one trail and indirectly linked to the phantom chorus on the other trail through perceptions of avian biodiversity. Our findings add to a growing body of evidence linking mental health improvements to nature experiences and, via our field-based manipulation, we identified audition as an important modality by which natural environments confer well-being. Finally, our results suggest that maintaining or improving natural soundscapes within protected areas may be an important component to maximizing human experiences, especially as tourism and noise pollution in protected areas grow.

There is more human-generated noise and light today than ever before, a trend tied to ongoing urbanization and with reverberating impacts on a wide range of organisms. While research on these impacts is mounting and particularly plentiful when it comes to birds, there is still much to explore within its effects on avian behavior, fitness, and evolution. In chapter 1, we investigated how fledgling movement is influenced by noise and light pollution. While adult birds have well-documented species-specific responses to these stimuli, fledglings are sorely understudied in this context. We experimentally manipulated light levels and took advantage of an existing landscape of artificial noise in the gas fields of northwestern New Mexico to radio track fledglings through gradients of noise and light from four species: Western bluebirds (Sialia mexicana), mountain bluebirds (Sialia currucoides), ash-throated flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens), and gray flycatchers (Empidonax wrightii). Step-selection functions assessing resource selection and generalized additive models assessing step length, step velocity, and distance from nest showed no influence of noise and light pollution on fledgling movement, but did show that ash-throated flycatchers moved further each day and further from the nest than gray flycatchers. Our results also revealed the novel pattern of fledglings moving away from the nest through day 10 of the radio tracking period, but moving back towards it after day 20. While we did not find positive results for our primary question, these observations of fledgling movement are valuable given how little we know about this vulnerable life stage. In chapter 2, we investigated whether dim light vision and its corresponding bony structures within the eye could be under selection with the proliferation of artificial light, given that variation in avian responses to light pollution was recently linked to the quality of a bird's dim light vision. We used museum specimens of six urban adapted species collected across 100+ years and light pollution proxies in the form of collection year and urban density to test two alternative hypotheses. Under the protection hypothesis, selection should drive evolution of poorer dim light vision with higher light pollution exposure, decreasing fitness cost borne via the hormone and circadian rhythm dysregulation associated with retinal-received light pollution. Under the temporal niche shift hypothesis, prolonged foraging opportunities made accessible to birds that can better detect light in artificially lit conditions should drive evolution of improved dim light vision with light pollution exposure. We found that dim light vision improved with collection year for great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) while the opposite was true for red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis); surprisingly, house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) showed support for both hypotheses within single species, exhibiting different directionality in dim light vision patterns for different light pollution proxies. Our results suggest that light pollution may represent a contemporary selective agent for avian vision, but that the directionality may depend on ecological context. More broadly, our findings suggest that quantifying animal perceptual abilities may be important for understanding inter-specific responses to an increasingly bright world.

The research aims to explore the effective utilization of drone technology for visually narrating a story. By analyzing lighting techniques and design strategies, insights will be provided into lighting practices that address the current energy and climate crisis. Emphasis will be placed on sustainable lighting practices that seek to minimize energy consumption while maximizing visual impact. The proposed lighting design at Jatayu Earth Center (JEC) aligns with sustainable development goals, promoting sustainable tourism, job opportunities, and local culture. A combination of drone technology and solar-chargeable batteries addresses the need for affordable, reliable, and modern energy access. This research contributes to the discourse on sustainable approaches to illuminating heritage architecture, exploring the intersection of art, heritage, and responsible energy practices. The successful implementation and marketing of the lighting design at JEC can have a significant impact on the Indian tourism industry, serving as inspiration for similar eco-tourism projects in the region and stimulating the local economy.

This paper focuses on exterior lighting strategies for suburban green areas in Stockholm, using the Nytorps gärde case study as an example. The research methodology employed includes a literature review, a survey, quantitative measurements, and expert interviews. The study highlights the importance of sustainable urban spaces, the inherent conflict in meeting the needs of both people and the ecosystem and proposes strategic measures for green spaces, including a proposed solution for a footpath involving low energy consumption and reduced feelings of threat, whilst at the same having a minimal light pollution footprint. The importance of involving and considering the nocturnal environment in urban planning is emphasised, with a proposal for light/night planning at a strategic level. Local and general strategies are proposed as are implementing good light pollution discipline and lighting controls. The thesis aims to provide lighting design guidance for the proposed development while advocating for the preservation of darkness, the importance of listening to women and girls in shaping the nocturnal environment, and a proposal for time-based light interventions that respect the dark environment.