Narrow‐spectrum artificial light silences female fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

@article{Owens2021NarrowspectrumAL,
  title={Narrow‐spectrum artificial light silences female fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)},
  author={Avalon C.S. Owens and Sara M. Lewis},
  journal={Insect Conservation and Diversity},
  year={2021},
  volume={14}
}
  • A. Owens, S. Lewis
  • Published 1 March 2021
  • Biology
  • Insect Conservation and Diversity
The rapid spread of artificial light at night (ALAN) poses myriad problems for nocturnal biodiversity. Bioluminescent taxa that communicate via glowing lures, warning signals, or courtship advertisements may have their signals obscured by artificial illumination, unless the added light is spectrally tuned to reduce its impact. Previous research has demonstrated that broad‐spectrum white light inhibits the production of courtship advertisements by male firefly beetles, yet the impact of varying… 
View on Wiley
8 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
1
Background Citations
4

8 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Blinded by the Light: Artificial Light Lowers Mate Attraction Success in Female Glow-Worms (Lampyris noctiluca L.)
TLDR
The impact of streetlights on mating success of the female common glow-worm, a bioluminescent nocturnal beetle that uses light signals for sexual communication, is studied by daily monitoring their glowing status in the field, acting as a proxy for mating status throughout the mating season.
Species-Specific Flash Patterns Track the Nocturnal Behavior of Sympatric Taiwanese Fireflies
Simple Summary Nocturnal fireflies are facing various challenges to their survival (e.g., artificial light pollution and extreme climate change). However, there are still no effective diagnostic…
The diversity of photosensitivity and its implications for light pollution.
TLDR
It is advocated that efforts to mitigate light pollution should consider the unique ways species perceive ALAN, as well as how diverse responses to ALAN scale up to produce diverse ecological outcomes.
Introduction to the Symposium: Effects of Light Pollution Across Diverse Natural Systems.
TLDR
This work aims to highlight background and foundational evidence of the effects of light pollution to present context and the basis for early light pollution studies, and touches on several understudied topics where research is underway to fill gaps in knowledge and provide the basis of future research.
Evaluating firefly extinction risk: Initial red list assessments for North America
TLDR
At least 18 species from the United States and Canada are threatened with extinction due to various pressures, including habitat loss, light pollution, and climate change (sea level rise and drought), and the need for further study is highlighted.
Impacts of artificial lighting at night on insect conservation
The widespread adoption of artificial lighting at night (ALAN) presents a growing threat to biodiversity in general and nocturnally active insects in particular. ALAN may be contributing to widely…
Firefly tourism: Advancing a global phenomenon toward a brighter future
Fireflies are charismatic beetles with attractive bioluminescent courtship displays that have recently been swept onto the global stage of nature tourism. Here, we provide the first comprehensive…
11 Pressing Research Questions on How Light Pollution Affects Biodiversity
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is closely associated with modern societies and is rapidly increasing worldwide. A dynamically growing body of literature shows that ALAN poses a serious threat to…

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 108 REFERENCES
Short- and mid-wavelength artificial light influences the flash signals of Aquatica ficta fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)
TLDR
Benefits of bioluminescent signal plasticity in a “noisy” signaling environment are demonstrated, long wavelength lighting is less likely to impact firefly courtship, and its use in place of broad spectrum white lighting could augment firefly conservation efforts.
The evolution of adult light emission color in North American fireflies
TLDR
Support is found for both hypotheses: males active early in more vegetated habitats produced yellower flashes in comparison to later‐active males with greener flashes and in two of the eight species with female data, female light emissions were significantly greener as compared to males.
Tuning of photoreceptor spectral sensitivity in fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)
TLDR
Modeling of spectral tuning indicates that the combination of screening and visual pigments found in the retina of each species provides the best possible match of sensitivity to bioluminescent emission.
Tuning the white light spectrum of light emitting diode lamps to reduce attraction of nocturnal arthropods
TLDR
Adjusting spectral composition of white light to minimize attracting nocturnal arthropods is feasible; not all lights with the same colour temperature are equally attractive to arthropod.
Artificial Night Lighting Reduces Firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) Occurrence in Sorocaba, Brazil
TLDR
This study proposes fireflies as potential flagship species and bioindicators for artificial night lighting and for the first time quantifies its effects, providing subsidies for future conservationist legislations regarding photopollution.
The impact of artificial light at night on nocturnal insects: A review and synthesis
TLDR
This review proposes five categories of ALAN impact on nocturnal insects, highlighting past research and identifying key knowledge gaps, and concludes with a summary of relevant literature on bioluminescent fireflies, which emphasizes the unique vulnerability of terrestrial light‐based communication systems to artificial illumination.
Light pollution may create demographic traps for nocturnal insects
Reproduction under light pollution: maladaptive response to spatial variation in artificial light in a glow-worm
TLDR
The results indicate that glow-worms are unable to respond to spatial variation in artificial light, which may be a factor in their global decline and supports the hypothesis that animals often lack adaptive behavioural responses to anthropogenic environmental changes.
Low levels of light pollution may block the ability of male glow-worms (Lampyris noctiluca L.) to locate females
Light pollution has been proposed as a factor in the decline of Lampyris noctiluca because it has the potential to interfere with reproductive signaling and has been shown to impact the ability of…
Proximate Mechanisms of Sexual Selection in the Firefly Photinus pyralis (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)
TLDR
Comparison with a species lacking scrambles revealed that selection in P. pyralis is disruptive, targeting traits alternately, and may have led to the evolution of higher allometric ratios in a species with direct male competition.
...
1
2
3
4
5
...