scholarly journals Cloud Coverage Acts as an Amplifier for Ecological Light Pollution in Urban Ecosystems

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e17307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher C. M. Kyba ◽  
Thomas Ruhtz ◽  
Jürgen Fischer ◽  
Franz Hölker
Keyword(s):  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Cloud Coverage

scholarly journals Overnight measurements of the sky brightness as a method for assessing the cloudiness

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Ściężor
Keyword(s):  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Cloud Coverage ◽  
Royal Astronomical Society ◽  
Innovative Method ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Night Sky ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Determining the state of cloudiness at night is always a problem, especially at low levels of light pollution. This paper presents an innovative method of assessing the cloudiness of the night sky solely on the basis of all-night measurements of the brightness of the sky using generally available SQM meters. Using the numerical method of calculating the discrete derivative of the overnight brightness of the night sky from time it is possible not only to distinguish a cloudless sky from a cloudy one, but even to distinguish the high level clouds from medium and low level ones. Full Text: PDF ReferencesKyba C.C.M., Ruhtz T., Fischer J., Hölker F., Cloud Coverage Acts as an Amplifier for Ecological Light Pollution in Urban Ecosystems, PLoS ONE, vol. 6, no. 3, 2011, e17307. CrossRef Ściężor T., The impact of clouds on the brightness of the night sky, to be published in Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 2020 CrossRef Ściężor T., Kubala M., Kaszowski W., Light Pollution of the Mountain Areas in Poland, Archives of Environmental Protection, Vol.38, No.4, 2012, pp. 59-69. CrossRef Crawford D.L., Photometry: terminology and units in the lighting and astronomical sciences, The Observatory, vol. 117, 1997, pp. 14-18. DirectLink Ściężor T., Kubala M., Particulate matter as an amplifier for astronomical light pollution, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 444, no. 3, 2014, pp. 2487-2493. CrossRef

scholarly journals How Clouds are Amplifying (or not) the Effects of ALAN

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 32-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador J Ribas ◽  
Jordi Torra ◽  
Sergi Paricio ◽  
Ramon Canal-Domingo
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Effect Data ◽  
Cloud Coverage ◽  
Sky Brightness ◽  
Night Sky ◽  
Meteorological Features ◽  
First Time ◽  
Night Sky Brightness

Light emitted or reflected up to the sky can interact with clouds or fog changing Night Sky Brightness (NSB). So the evaluation of NSB in any place can be affected by this meteorological features and needs to be analyzed. To evaluate this effect, data of NSB obtained with the Catalan Light Pollution Network (XCLCat) has been analyzed accurately and shows how the effect is completely different in urban and protected areas. The study, including for the first time independent cloud coverage data from ceilometer in combination with Sky Quality Meters (SQM), shows how in a city NSB increases dramatically and in a protected area the sky appears darker than in cloudless situation.

scholarly journals The effect of artificial light at night on the biomass of caterpillars feeding in urban tree canopies

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1311-1319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Áron Péter ◽  
Gábor Seress ◽  
Krisztina Sándor ◽  
Ernő Vincze ◽  
Krisztián Pál Klucsik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Technological Development ◽  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Artificial Light ◽  
Temporal Consistency ◽  
Light At Night ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract Alternation of day and night is the oldest cycle on Earth, which is increasingly disturbed by the accelerating rate of urbanization and technological development. Despite the ubiquity of light pollution in cities, many aspects of its influence on urban ecosystems are still poorly understood. Here we studied the effect of artificial light at night (ALAN) on the biomass of arboreal caterpillar populations, which are a major component of the diet of many insectivorous animals. We predicted that increasing ALAN intensity is associated with reduced caterpillar biomass, because ALAN may increase predation risk for both caterpillars and adult lepidopterans (i.e. moths), and can also hinder the moths’ reproductive rate. We estimated caterpillar biomass from frass samples (n = 3061) collected from 36 focal trees in two cities in Hungary during four consecutive years. To quantify ALAN we measured light intensity during night at each focal tree (range of illumination: 0.69–3.18 lx). We found that caterpillar biomass of individual trees was repeatable over the four years. This temporal consistency in prey biomass production may be important for birds because it can help predict territory quality, especially in cities where caterpillar abundance is generally low. Our results did not support the negative effect of ALAN on urban caterpillar populations, because ALAN intensity was not related to caterpillar biomass, and this lack of effect was consistent between study sites and tree species. We suggest that the effect of ALAN on urban caterpillar biomass is either weak and thus can be masked by other, local environmental factors, or light pollution may have antagonistic effects acting during different stages of the lepidopteran life cycle. Another explanation could be that even the lower levels of our sites’ public lighting are strong enough to cause serious detrimental effects for caterpillars, resulting in their uniformly low biomass.

Toward cross‐realm management of coastal urban ecosystems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caragh G Threlfall ◽  
Ezequiel M Marzinelli ◽  
Alessandro Ossola ◽  
Ana B Bugnot ◽  
Melanie J Bishop ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Ecosystems

scholarly journals Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Urban Light Emissions: Ground and Satellite Comparison

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Máximo Bustamante-Calabria ◽  
Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel ◽  
Susana Martín-Ruiz ◽  
Jose-Luis Ortiz ◽  
José M. Vílchez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Activity ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Clear Correlation ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Nocturnal Activity ◽  
Empirical Expression ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosol ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Sky Brightness ◽  
The City

‘Lockdown’ periods in response to COVID-19 have provided a unique opportunity to study the impacts of economic activity on environmental pollution (e.g., NO2, aerosols, noise, light). The effects on NO2 and aerosols have been very noticeable and readily demonstrated, but that on light pollution has proven challenging to determine. The main reason for this difficulty is that the primary source of nighttime satellite imagery of the earth is the SNPP-VIIRS/DNB instrument, which acquires data late at night after most human nocturnal activity has already occurred and much associated lighting has been turned off. Here, to analyze the effect of lockdown on urban light emissions, we use ground and satellite data for Granada, Spain, during the COVID-19 induced confinement of the city’s population from 14 March until 31 May 2020. We find a clear decrease in light pollution due both to a decrease in light emissions from the city and to a decrease in anthropogenic aerosol content in the atmosphere which resulted in less light being scattered. A clear correlation between the abundance of PM10 particles and sky brightness is observed, such that the more polluted the atmosphere the brighter the urban night sky. An empirical expression is determined that relates PM10 particle abundance and sky brightness at three different wavelength bands.

Estimating the loss and fragmentation of dark environments in mammal ranges from light pollution

2021 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
pp. 109135
Author(s):  
Mark A. Ditmer ◽  
David C. Stoner ◽  
Neil H. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Light Pollution

scholarly journals On the issue of creating a comfortable environment to improve the ecology of urban ecosystems

2021 ◽  
Vol 677 (5) ◽  
pp. 052058
Author(s):  
T Y Aksyanova ◽  
N S Livak ◽  
V V Lebedikhin ◽  
A A Smirnaya
Keyword(s):  
Urban Ecosystems

scholarly journals Temporal and Spatial Blood Feeding Patterns of Urban Mosquitoes in the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Matthew W. Hopken ◽  
Limarie J. Reyes-Torres ◽  
Nicole Scavo ◽  
Antoinette J. Piaggio ◽  
Zaid Abdo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Metropolitan Area ◽  
Culex Quinquefasciatus ◽  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
San Juan ◽  
Vertebrate Species ◽  
Blood Meals

Urban ecosystems are a patchwork of habitats that host a broad diversity of animal species. Insects comprise a large portion of urban biodiversity which includes many pest species, including those that transmit pathogens. Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) inhabit urban environments and rely on sympatric vertebrate species to complete their life cycles, and in this process transmit pathogens to animals and humans. Given that mosquitoes feed upon vertebrates, they can also act as efficient samplers that facilitate detection of vertebrate species that utilize urban ecosystems. In this study, we analyzed DNA extracted from mosquito blood meals collected temporally in multiple neighborhoods of the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico to evaluate the presence of vertebrate fauna. DNA was collected from 604 individual mosquitoes that represented two common urban species, Culex quinquefasciatus (n = 586) and Aedes aegypti (n = 18). Culex quinquefasciatus fed on 17 avian taxa (81.2% of blood meals), seven mammalian taxa (17.9%), and one reptilian taxon (0.85%). Domestic chickens dominated these blood meals both temporally and spatially, and no statistically significant shift from birds to mammals was detected. Aedes aegypti blood meals were from a less diverse group, with two avian taxa (11.1%) and three mammalian taxa (88.9%) identified. The blood meals we identified provided a snapshot of the vertebrate community in the San Juan Metropolitan Area and have potential implications for vector-borne pathogen transmission.

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