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Section 2 of Buġibba showing street lights made up of two rows of globes and a row of tall lamp posts.
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This is a book in Portugues about light pollution. The Title in English is Before fireflies disappear
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... Over the last two decades, a yearly rescue program based on large-scale public awareness led by a local NGO (Society of Ornithological Studies of Réunion, SEOR), has successfully rescued and released 58 Mascarene petrels disoriented by artificial lights (1996-2021) 38,41 . While the rescue campaign stands out as the most impactful measure to mitigate light-induced mortality, complementary actions such as installing light shields, employing motion sensors to turn lights off, and implementing light restriction during the peak fledging period (recently implemented in Réunion Island) could also be effective in the conservation of the Mascarene petrel 61 . Altogether, our results suggest that birds from both colonies were part of a larger population that was connected until a recent past, and genetic differentiation of populations must have been a relatively quick evolutionary event, likely exacerbated by high natal philopatry. ...
Humans are regularly cited as the main driver of current biodiversity extinction, but the impact of historic volcanic activity is often overlooked. Pre-human evidence of wildlife abundance and diversity are essential for disentangling anthropogenic impacts from natural events. Réunion Island, with its intense and well-documented volcanic activity, endemic biodiversity, long history of isolation and recent human colonization, provides an opportunity to disentangle these processes. We track past demographic changes of a critically endangered seabird, the Mascarene petrel Pseudobulweria aterrima, using genome-wide SNPs. Coalescent modeling suggested that a large ancestral population underwent a substantial population decline in two distinct phases, ca. 125,000 and 37,000 years ago, coinciding with periods of major eruptions of Piton des Neiges. Subsequently, the ancestral population was fragmented into the two known colonies, ca. 1500 years ago, following eruptions of Piton de la Fournaise. In the last century, both colonies declined significantly due to anthropogenic activities, and although the species was initially considered extinct, it was rediscovered in the 1970s. Our findings suggest that the current conservation status of wildlife on volcanic islands should be firstly assessed as a legacy of historic volcanic activity, and thereafter by the increasing anthropogenic impacts, which may ultimately drive species towards extinction.
... Fledgling seabird "fallout" occurs when chicks leaving their nests are disoriented by onshore lighting and become stranded on land instead of flying out to sea [1]. The magnitude of fallout is likely influenced by the number of chicks fledging, the prevailing environmental and celestial conditions [4,5], and the features of anthropogenic lights, which vary as a function of light fixture design and bulb type [6,7]. To gauge the effectiveness of light pollution mitigation measures, wildlife managers need to understand the influence of these biological and environmental drivers on the timing and magnitude of fallout. ...
... A conceptual model to explain fallout involves fledging seabirds being drawn toward welllit coastal areas, especially in the absence of moonlight [4,5,[8][9][10][11] and when strong winds are directed toward shore [10,11]. Birds are affected by bright light sources from vessels at sea and urbanized areas on shore, including streetlights and sports fields [1,6,[12][13]. Moreover, collisions with powerlines and other structure can lead to injury and grounding [14,15]. ...
... Given the strong correlation between the dead birds observed in our road surveys and the live birds brought to SLP, there is no evidence suggesting that the shielded LED streetlights impacted the number of birds affected by fallout overall. However, because these new lights did not reduce fallout, wildlife managers may consider modifications such as dimming, wavelength alteration or motion sensors, to mitigate negative impacts to fledging WTSH on O'ahu [6,19]. ...
Attraction to artificial light at night (ALAN) poses a threat to many fledgling seabirds leaving their nests for the first time. In Hawai'i, fledgling wedge-tailed shearwaters disoriented by lights may become grounded due to exhaustion or collision, exposing them to additional threats from road traffic and predation. While the timing and magnitude of shearwater fallout varies from year to year, little is known about how changing lighting and environmental conditions influence the risk of grounding for this species. We analyzed 8 years (2012-2019) of observations of road-killed shearwaters along the Kalaniana'ole Highway on O'ahu to quantify the timing and magnitude of fallout during the fledging season (November-December). Our goal was to compare fallout before (2012-15) and after (2016-19) a transition in highway lighting from unshielded high-pressure sodium (HPS) to full-cutoff light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights. To detect the shearwater response to the lighting regime, we also accounted for three potential environmental drivers of interannual variability in fallout: moon illumination, wind speed, and wind direction. The effects of these environmental drivers varied across years, with moon illumination, wind speed and wind direction significantly affecting fallout in at least one year. Altogether, the interaction between moon illumination and wind speed was the most important predictor, suggesting that fallout increases during nights with low moon and strong winds. The lack of an increase in fallout after the change from HPS to shielded 3000K-4000K LED streetlights suggests the new streetlights did not worsen the light pollution impacts on wedge-tailed shearwaters on Southeast O'ahu. However , due to potential species-specific disparities in the behavior and light attraction of petrels, similar studies are needed before energy saving LED lights are implemented throughout the Hawaiian archipelago.
... The authors of the inventory of another Polish city, Tarnów, also observed a huge variety of fixture types, so similar conclusions may apply to other cities located in mid-latitudes (Ściężor et al., 2020). The research conducted so far indicates that there is a problem of obsolete, unmodernised infrastructure in urban space (Papalambrou and Doulos, 2019;Raine et al., 2007). According to the US National Park Service, about 50% of the light from outdoor infrastructure is wasted because it is directed upward (Chepesiuk, 2009). ...
Artificial light has been present in human life for decades but our knowledge of its effects is still insufficient. Lighting lets us be active longer, gives us a sense of security and provides aesthetic experiences. Despite all of these advantages, in urban areas artificial light also has a negative effects on the environment and human life. Although light pollution is one of the most common forms of anthropogenic environmental change, this phenomenon remains insufficiently investigated. The present work thus focuses on night sky brightness and artificial factors impacting the level of the phenomenon using Warsaw (Poland) and Fukuoka (Japan) as an example. The basis of the study is the new World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness. Moreover, we used image data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day/Night Band and data from field research to analyse the primary artificial light characteristics in the two cities: illumination, colour temperature, peak wavelength, dominant wavelength, stimulation of photoreceptors, design of lighting fixtures and radiance. The results indicate that Warsaw (area: 517.2 km²; population: 1 777 972) is characterized by higher light pollution than Fukuoka (area: 343.5 km²; population: 1 554 229). Skyglow is primarily influenced by the number of light sources; however, local differentiation of the phenomenon depends on the spectral characteristics and design of lighting fixtures. Moreover, environmental features may affect light pollution through scattering, reflection and absorption. Outdoor lighting in Warsaw was characterized by a higher value of light illumination and greater stimulation of photoreceptors sensitive to long and medium waves. However, the lighting infrastructure in Fukuoka was also unsuitable, as it was characterised by high values of colour temperature and stimulation of photoreceptors sensitive to short waves and ganglion cells, which may be detrimental to the human body.
... Noise impacts negatively on both residents and birds, and light pollution may interfere with the night sky, affecting the circadian rhythms of wildlife and potentially deterring shearwaters from reaching their colonies sited along the coastal cliffs [28]. Light pollution also has the effect of attracting moths and insects, thus reducing food sources for bats [29] and other night-time predators that rely on them. ...
The small-to-medium sized Malta International Airport (MIA) is the only airport in Malta, especially in terms of its footprint, and is considered one of the world’s most scenic landings, according to a 2016 poll. The annual passenger turnover is approximately 16 times the country’s population. MIA’s unique features include its proximity to the urban conservation area of Luqa, as well as that town’s other residential and business facilities, and also to the southern coast of Malta and the unique ecological habitats it supports. Its impacts range from noise to atmosphere pollution and, potentially, pollution of the coastal waters, in the eventuality of an air traffic accident. On the basis of the national strategic vision that Malta evolves into an expanding hub in the centre of the Mediterranean, significant investment is earmarked for MIA, including initiatives impacting security, the environment and energy.
... The problem can also affect Scopoli Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) and the European Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus), which are present in considerable numbers on the Maltese Islands; in particular, the latter constitutes the largest breeding colony in the Mediterranean (Raine et al., 2007). Beside the coastal zones that are of importance to such seabirds, the small size of the islands means that light pollution was expected to affect virtually every part of the country, since no region is sufficiently remote and isolated as to escape the reach and effects of nighttime illumination. ...
Over the years, the Maltese Islands have seen a marked rise in the prevalence of artificial lighting at night. The most evident type of light pollution arising from this evolution in anthropogenic night-time lighting is artificial skyglow via partial back-scattering in the atmosphere, leading to an increase in the Night Sky Brightness (NSB). The importance of understanding and quantifying the geographical distribution of the NSB is underscored by the adverse impact of light pollution on various spheres, from astronomical observation to ecology and human health. For the first time, we present a detailed map of the NSB over the Maltese archipelago carried out with Unihedron Sky Quality Meters. We show that the vast majority of the area of the Maltese Islands is heavily light polluted, with 87% of the area registering a NSB $<$ 20.39~mag$_{\rm SQM}$/arcsec$^2$ (Bortle Class 5 or higher) and 37.3% $<$ 19.09~mag$_{\rm SQM}$/arcsec$^2$ (Bortle Class 6 or higher), with the Milky Way being visible for only 12.8% of the area (adopting a visibility threshold $>$ 20.4 - 21.29~mag$_{\rm SQM}$/arcsec$^2$; Bortle Class 4). Coastal Dark Sky Heritage Areas on the island of Gozo retain generally darker skies than the rest of the islands, but light pollution originating further inland is encroaching upon and adversely affecting these sites. The methodology presented in this study can be adopted for continued future studies in Malta as well as for other regions.
... The Maltese Islands host around 10% of the global population of Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan), whose nesting is disturbed by light pollution (Borg et al., 2010). The problem can also affect Scopoli Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris borealis) and the European Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus), which are present in considerable numbers on the Maltese Islands; in particular, the latter constitutes the largest breeding colony in the Mediterranean (Raine et al., 2007). Beside the coastal zones that are of importance to such seabirds, the small size of the islands means that light pollution was expected to affect virtually every part of the country, since no region is sufficiently remote and isolated as to escape the reach and effects of nighttime illumination. ...
Over the years, the Maltese Islands have seen a marked rise in the prevalence of artificial lighting at night. The most evident type of light pollution arising from this evolution in anthropogenic night-time lighting is artificial skyglow via partial back-scattering in the atmosphere, leading to an increase in the Night Sky Brightness (NSB). The importance of understanding and quantifying the geographical distribution of the NSB is underscored by the adverse impact of light pollution on various spheres, from astronomical observation to ecology and human health. For the first time, we present a detailed map of the NSB over the Maltese archipelago carried out with Unihedron Sky Quality Meters. We show that the vast majority of the area of the Maltese Islands is heavily light polluted, with 87% of the area registering a NSB < 20.39magSQM/arcsec2 (Bortle Class 5 or higher) and 37.3% < 19.09magSQM/arcsec2 (Bortle Class 6 or higher), with the Milky Way being visible for only 12.8% of the area (adopting a visibility threshold > 20.4 - 21.29magSQM/arcsec2; Bortle Class 4). Coastal Dark Sky Heritage Areas on the island of Gozo retain generally darker skies than the rest of the islands, but light pollution originating further inland is encroaching upon and adversely affecting these sites. The methodology presented in this study can be adopted for continued future studies in Malta as well as for other regions.
... Sin embargo, es necesario evaluar su efectividad en un mayor número de especies (Rodríguez et al. 2017a). El uso de sensores de movimiento o temporizadores se ha propuesto como un mecanismo que posibilitaría lo anterior (Raine et al. 2007), pero no se conocen experiencias que midan el efecto de su utilización. ...
Light pollution affects seabirds through the attraction to light sources and its fallout all over the world, being petrels and shearwaters the most affected species. Light pollution is increasing globally and its effects on seabirds will likely increase during the next years. A global assessment of this issue has been made, but there is no detailed information about South America; thus, the aim of this article is to assess the situation in Chile, in order to suggest technical measures to be considered into the national light pollution policy, which could promote the addressing of the issue in South America. To do so, a diagnosis on marine bird species was made through direct consultation with experts, a systematic review, and research in free access databases. We found 17 seabirds species affected by fallout in Chile, including six species not previously recognized in the literature. The impact is mainly distributed in islands and coastal localities, but also inland, as far as 100 km from the shore. Most of the management of this phenomenon done in Chile is restricted to the rescue and release of affected birds, although there is no evidence of the long-term success of this approach. Measures, such as turning off lights or light replacement are rare, implemented at a small scale, and have unknown results. An update of the light pollution policy is required in Chile, which should consider the protection of biodiversity as a goal, the national geographic scope beyond areas of astronomical interest, and including new lighting technologies such as LED lights. Finally, the development of stronger regulations for human activities, like lighting near sensible points, including seabirds’ breeding grounds, is especially important.
... The Scopoli's Shearwater is endemic to the Mediterranean where it occurs over the entire Basin, and its population in this region was tentatively estimated in earlier studies at 57,000-76,000 breeding pairs (Zotier et al. 1999;Sultana and Borg 2006). The Scopoli's Shearwater is threatened to a large extent by fishery bycatch (Belda and Sánchez 2001;Cooper et al. 2003;Dimech et al. 2009;Igual et al. 2009;García-Barcelona et al. 2010;Laneri et al. 2010;Karris et al. 2013;Báez et al. 2014), introduced predators (Igual et al. 2009;Ruffino et al. 2009;Capizzi et al. 2010), urban light-induced mortality (Baccetti et al. 2005;Raine et al. 2007) and adult-, chick-and egg-harvesting (Zotier et al. 1992;Massa 2006;Sultana and Borg 2006;N. Baccetti personal communication). ...
Scopoli’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) is a Procellariiform endemic to the Mediterranean Basin which is considered to be vulnerable in Europe due to recent local declines and its susceptibility to both marine and terrestrial threats. In the 1970s–1980s, its population size was estimated at 57,000–76,000 breeding pairs throughout the Mediterranean Basin, with the largest colony, estimated at 15,000–25,000 pairs, found on Zembra Island, Tunisia. The objectives of our study were to re-estimate the size of the breeding population on Zembra Island, to reassess the global population size of the species, and to analyse the implications of these findings on status and conservation of this species in the Mediterranean. Using distance sampling, we estimated the Zembra breeding population to be 141,780 pairs (95 % confidence interval 113,720–176,750 pairs). A review of the most recent data on populations of this species throughout the Mediterranean Basin led us to estimate its new global population size at 141,000–223,000 breeding pairs. Using the demographic invariant and potential biological removal approaches, we estimated the maximum number of adults which could be killed annually by all non-natural causes without causing a population decline to be 8800 (range 7700–9700) individuals, of which could be 3700 breeders. Although these results are less alarming in the context of species conservation than previously thought, uncertainties associated with global population size, trends and major threats still raise questions on the future of this species. More generally, we show how a monitoring strategy for a bird supposed to be relatively well known overall can be potentially misleading due to biases in survey design. The reduction of such biases would therefore appear to be an unavoidable prerequisite in cryptic species monitoring before any reliable inference on the conservation status of the species can be drawn.
... Seabirds also have been found to be attracted to lights elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean (e.g., Imber, 1975;Harrow, 1976;Reed et al., 1985;Telfer et al., 1987;Rojek, 2001;Bertram, 1995;Greer et al., 2010;Rodriguez et al., 2014;R.H. Day, unpubl. data), the Atlantic Ocean (e.g., Wingate, 1964;Swales, 1965;Rodríguez and Rodríguez, 2009;Merkel, 2010;Miles et al., 2010;Fontaine et al., 2011;Rodríguez et al., 2012), the Mediterranean Sea (e.g., Arcos and Oro, 2002;Raine et al., 2007), the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic (e.g., Swales, 1965;Warham, 1996;Black, 2005), and the Indian Ocean (e.g., Le Corre et al., 2002;Pinet et al., 2009). Tubenoses (Procellariiformes), in particular, seem to be prone to light attraction, although other taxa of seabirds and coastal birds that are primarily nocturnal at terrestrial nesting areas or are migrating at night also may be attracted in numbers (e.g., shorebirds, nocturnal alcids). ...
We studied movement rates and the general flight behavior of bird flocks seen on radar and recorded visually at Northstar Island, Arctic Alaska, from 13 to 27 September 2002. Most of this period (13 – 19 and 21 – 27 September) had no gas-flaring events, but a major gas-flaring event occurred on the night of 20 September. Movement rates of targets on radar and of bird flocks recorded visually in the first ~50% – 60% of the night were much lower during the non-flaring period than during the night of flaring, whereas rates in the last ~40% – 50% of the night were similar in all periods. The general flight behavior of birds also differed significantly, with higher percentages of both radar targets and bird flocks exhibiting straight-line (directional) flight behaviors during the non-flaring periods and higher percentages of radar targets and bird flocks exhibiting non-straight-line (erratic and circling) flight behaviors during the gas-flaring period. During the night of gas flaring, the bright illumination appeared to have an effect only after sunset, when flocks of birds circled the island after being drawn in from what appeared to be a substantial distance from the island. On both radar and visual sampling, the number of bird flocks approaching the island declined over the evening, and the attractiveness of the light from flaring appeared to decline. The visibility of the moon appeared to have little effect on the behavior of birds. Because illumination from extensive gas-flaring is such a strong attractant to migrating birds and because most bird flocks fly at low altitudes over the water, flaring booms on coastal and offshore oil-production platforms in Arctic Alaska should be positioned higher than the mean flight altitudes of migrating birds to reduce the chances of incineration.
... In an ecological context, changes in luminaires have particularly been championed in situations in which light trespass causes problems for given species of conservation concern (e.g. Reed, Sincock & Hailman 1985;Le Corre et al. 2002;Raine et al. 2007). Narrowing of light beams has also been proposed as one potentially valuable measure for reducing bird strikes at lighthouses (Jones & Francis 2003). ...
1. Much concern has been expressed about the ecological consequences of night-time light pollution. This concern is most often focused on the encroachment of artificial light into previously unlit areas of the night-time environment, but changes in the spectral composition, duration and spatial pattern of light are also recognized as having ecological effects.
2. Here, we examine the potential consequences for organisms of five management options to reduce night-time light pollution. These are to (i) prevent areas from being artificially lit; (ii) limit the duration of lighting; (iii) reduce the ‘trespass’ of lighting into areas that are not intended to be lit (including the night sky); (iv) change the intensity of lighting; and (v) change the spectral composition of lighting.
3. Maintaining and increasing natural unlit areas is likely to be the most effective option for reducing the ecological effects of lighting. However, this will often conflict with other social and economic objectives. Decreasing the duration of lighting will reduce energy costs and carbon emissions, but is unlikely to alleviate many impacts on nocturnal and crepuscular animals, as peak times of demand for lighting frequently coincide with those in the activities of these species. Reducing the trespass of lighting will maintain heterogeneity even in otherwise well-lit areas, providing dark refuges that mobile animals can exploit. Decreasing the intensity of lighting will reduce energy consumption and limit both skyglow and the area impacted by high-intensity direct light. Shifts towards ‘whiter’ light are likely to increase the potential range of environmental impacts as light is emitted across a broader range of wavelengths.
4.
Synthesis and applications. The artificial lightscape will change considerably over coming decades with the drive for more cost-effective low-carbon street lighting solutions and growth in the artificially lit area. Developing lighting strategies that minimize adverse ecological impacts while balancing the often conflicting requirements of light for human utility, comfort and safety, aesthetic concerns, energy consumption and carbon emission reduction constitute significant future challenges. However, as both lighting technology and understanding of its ecological effects develop, there is potential to identify adaptive solutions that resolve these conflicts.
