Street lights disrupt ecosystem, says beetle study

A study in England is indication that street lights are affecting the habits of insects and birds, and may be affecting the ecosystem.

Interesting.

Street lights have an unexpectedly strong effect on insect populations, favouring some species while punishing others, according to a study released Wednesday that raises new questions about human impact on wildlife.

Researchers led by Thomas Davies at the University of Exeter, southwestern England, spent three days in August 2011 placing insect traps around Helston, a small town in Cornwall.

They picked up 1,194 insects from 60 different species.

Proximity to street lights was a big factor in the number of insects and the prevailing species, they found.

Please read the article for technical info.


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Street lights disrupt ecosystem, says beetle study

So does the concrete jungle usually around these streetlights. And the people.

Isnt this kind of to be expected?

We effect the Eco system in many ways in the 70s or maybe earlier before pasteurized milk birds used to rely on pecking the tin lid and eating all the cream at the top of the bottle.as soon as the cream was taken out of milk the bird population declined.

Originally posted by phroziac
So does the concrete jungle usually around these streetlights. And the people.

Isnt this kind of to be expected?

From the OP:
"Street lights have an unexpectedly strong effect".

I think they are fully aware bear with me now as im no scientist ok every 50 feet or so there is a streetlight now every bulb is hPS hi pressure sodium now each light puts out 20 to 50 thousand luminescence indoor grows ops here in Cali use the same exact lighting to harvest and sell indoor crops technically they could interfere with the equinox with there light cycle so trees in the city are on 24 hr cycles and this will change the plants growth rate and disturb its natural light cycle im sure they plant trees that are keen to this light so they can potentially change seasons alter our perception of time maybe control the pollination season of bees hay fever allergies ect. where im at if the sun blacked out my whole neighborhood will still grow under hPS based on luminescence per square foot so I wonder about the use of grow lights for lighting the streets its also very hard to see past as the color spectrum consumes alot of the retna like the sun blocking the stars light pollution indeed

Originally posted by SupersonicSerpent
We effect the Eco system in many ways in the 70s or maybe earlier before pasteurized milk birds used to rely on pecking the tin lid and eating all the cream at the top of the bottle.as soon as the cream was taken out of milk the bird population declined.

I've never heard that but I did see a program several years ago that showed one species of raven in the UK started doing this after one figured it out and taught the others. They used this as an example of ravens being top 10 smartest birds in thw world, I think they even won #1. Or maybe it was smartest animals in the world and they were one of the birds that made the show. I dont know I havent had TV in soo long but I do remember the case point itself.