Slowly seeing the light: an integrative review on ecological light pollution as a potential threat for mollusks
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REVIEW ARTICLE
Slowly seeing the light: an integrative review on ecological light pollution as a potential threat for mollusks Ahmed A. A. Hussein 1,2,3 & Erik Bloem 3 & István Fodor 4 & El-Sayed Baz 1 & Menerva M. Tadros 2 & Maha F. M. Soliman 1 & Nahla S. El-Shenawy 1 & Joris M. Koene 3 Received: 25 October 2019 / Accepted: 23 November 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Seasonal changes in the natural light condition play a pivotal role in the regulation of many biological processes in organisms. Disruption of this natural condition via the growing loss of darkness as a result of anthropogenic light pollution has been linked to species-wide shifts in behavioral and physiological traits. This review starts with a brief overview of the definition of light pollution and the most recent insights into the perception of light. We then go on to review the evidence for some adverse effects of ecological light pollution on different groups of animals and will focus on mollusks. Taken together, the available evidence suggests a critical role for light pollution as a recent, growing threat to the regulation of various biological processes in these animals, with the potential to disrupt ecosystem stability. The latter indicates that ecological light pollution is an environmental threat that needs to be taken seriously and requires further research attention. Keywords Artificial light . Biorhythm . Mollusca . Reproduction . Snails . Slugs . Zeitgeber
Introduction Natural light is known to be a crucial regulating cue for the biological world and generally acts as a zeitgeber for biological rhythms (Bradshaw and Holzapfel 2010; Foster and Roenneberg 2008; Ragni and Ribera D’Alcalà 2004). As a natural abiotic factor, it is known to influence many behavioral and physiological processes in animals, e.g., reproduction, energy storage, and (neuronal) activity. One important aspect is the seasonal change in light conditions, meaning that even
Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues * Ahmed A. A. Hussein [email protected] 1
Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
2
Theodor Bilharz Research Institute (TBRI), Giza, Egypt
3
Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije University, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 Amsterdam, Netherlands
4
NAP Adaptive Neuroethology, Department of Experimental Zoology, Balaton Limnological Institute, Centre for Ecological Research, 8237 Tihany, Hungary
though natural light is not constant but varies over time, this still provides sufficient information to entrain biological rhythms. Short-term variation in natural light can, for instance, be due to the presence of clouds that block part of the light coming from the sun or stars, and light intensity may change rapidly with increasing sky turbidity (Cronin et al. 2014). As a result, the natural light intensity of the sun can range from 120,000 lx for direct sunlight at noon to less than 5 lx during misty sunsets or sunrises (Gorman et al. 2005). Despite this variation, such light
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