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Manríquez, P. H., Jara, M. E., Diaz, M. I., Quijón, P. A., Widdicombe, S., Pulgar, J., et al. (2019). Artificial light pollution influences behavioral and physiological traits in a keystone predator species, Concholepas concholepas. Science of The Total Environment, in press.
Abstract: Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) is an increasing global problem that, despite being widely recognized in terrestrial systems, has been studied much less in marine habitats. In this study we investigated the effect of ALAN on behavioral and physiological traits of Concholepas concholepas, an important keystone species of the south-eastern Pacific coast. We used juveniles collected in intertidal habitats that had not previously been exposed to ALAN. In the laboratory we exposed them to two treatments: darkness and white LED (Lighting Emitting Diodes) to test for the impacts of ALAN on prey-searching behavior, self-righting time and metabolism. In the field, the distribution of juveniles was observed during daylight-hours to determine whether C. concholepas preferred shaded or illuminated microhabitats. Moreover, we compared the abundance of juveniles collected during day- and night-time hours. The laboratory experiments demonstrated that juveniles of C. concholepas seek out and choose their prey more efficiently in darkened areas. White LED illuminated conditions increased righting times and metabolism. Field surveys indicated that, during daylight hours, juveniles were more abundant in shaded micro-habitats than in illuminated ones. However, during darkness hours, individuals were not seen to aggregate in any particular microhabitats. We conclude that the exposure to ALAN might disrupt important behavioral and physiological traits of small juveniles in this species which, as a mechanism to avoid visual predators, are mainly active at night. It follows that ALAN in coastal areas might modify the entire community structure of intertidal habitats by altering the behavior of this keystone species.
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Zhang, P., Pan, J., Xie, L., Zhou, T., Bai, H., & Zhu, Y. (2019). Spatial–Temporal Evolution and Regional Differentiation Features of Urbanization in China from 2003 to 2013. Ijgi, 8(1), 31.
Abstract: Quantifying the temporal and spatial patterns of impervious surfaces (IS) is important for assessing the environmental and ecological impacts of urbanization. In order to better extract IS, and to explore the divergence in urbanization in different regions, research on the regional differentiation features and regional change difference features of IS are required. To extract China’s 2013 urban impervious area, we used the 2013 night light (NTL) data and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) temporal series data, and used three urban impervious surface extraction indexes—Human Settlements Index, Vegetation-Adjusted NTL Urban Index, and the EVI-adjusted NTL index (EANTLI)—which are recognized as the best and most widely used indexes for extracting urban impervious areas. We used the classification results of the Landsat-8 images as the benchmark data to visually compare and verify the results of the urban impervious area extracted by the three indexes. We determined that the EANTLI index better reflects the distribution of the impervious area. Therefore, we used the EANTLI index to extract the urban impervious area from 2003 to 2013 in the study area, and researched the spatial and temporal differentiation in urban IS. The results showed that China’s urban IS area was 70,179.06 km2, accounting for 0.73% of the country’s land area in 2013, compared with 20,565.24 km2 in 2003, which accounted for 0.21% of the land area, representing an increase of 0.52%. On a spatial scale, like economic development, the distribution of urban impervious surfaces was different in different regions. The overall performance of the urban IS percentage was characterized by a decreasing trend from Northwest China, Southwest China, the Middle Reaches of the Yellow River, Northeast China, the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Southern Coastal China, and Northern Coastal China to Eastern Coastal China. On the provincial scale, the urban IS expansion showed considerable differences in different regions. The overall performance of the Urban IS Expansion index showed that the eastern coastal areas had higher values than the western inland areas. The cities or provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, and Shanghai had the largest growth in impervious areas. Spatially and temporally quantifying the change in urban impervious areas can help to better understand the intensity of urbanization in a region. Therefore, quantifying the change in urban impervious area has an important role in the study of regional environmental and economic development, policy formulation, and the rational use of resources in both time and space.
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Boyce, P. R. (2019). The benefits of light at night. Building and Environment, in press.
Abstract: The use of light at night continues to increase. Simply put, this is because without light we are deprived of our premier sense, vision. By enabling vision the use of light at night delivers a number of benefits to people. Such benefits include greater safety for pedestrians and drivers, reduced fear of crime, more use of outdoor facilities after dark, enhanced economic growth and the creation of built and natural environments that are a source of beauty and entertainment. This suggests that the use of light at night is linked to some very basic human motivations which in turn means that people value such benefits and will not willingly abandon them. Fortunately, careful lighting design, soundly-based outdoor lighting standards and new lighting and sensor technology offer the possibility of providing the benefits of light at night while minimizing the impact on the environment.
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Chaiwat, T. (2016). Night Lights, Economic Growth, and Spatial Inequality of Thailand. PIER Discussion Papers, 26.
Abstract: This paper explains the method using a set of night light imaginary to estimate GPP of Thailand. This method is quite new but widely acceptable in the area of economics because luminosity of night lights is normally based on the amount of economic activities in each area. The results showed a high and significant correlation betweein the night lights and the GPP growth. Even if the estimation was controlled by some specific factors, such as population density, timing size of agricultural or manufacturing sector, the relationship is still robust. After this relationship is confirmed in the provincial level of Thailand, this research applied the results to show the relationship between economic values and spatial inequality, which indicates new understanding about spatial development patterns.
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Sanotra, G. S., Lund, J. D., & Vestergaard, K. S. (2002). Influence of light-dark schedules and stocking density on behaviour, risk of leg problems and occurrence of chronic fear in broilers. Br Poult Sci, 43(3), 344–354.
Abstract: 1. The aims of this study were to determine (1) the effect of light-dark schedules on the walking ability, the risk of tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) as well as the duration of tonic immobility (TI) reactions in commercial broiler flocks and (2) the effect of a daily dark period and reduced density on the behaviour of broiler chickens. 2. Experiment 1. Group 1 had a 2 to 8 h daily dark period from 2 to 26 d of age (light-dark programme A) at a stocking density of 28.4 chicks/m2. Group 2 had 8 h of darkness daily from 2 to 38 d of age (light-dark programme B) at 24 chicks/m2. The control group had 24 h continuous light at 28.4 chicks/m2. 3. Experiment 2. Behaviour was studied with and without a daily 8 h dark period and at high (30 chicks/m2) and low (18 chicks/m2) stocking densities. 4. Programme B reduced the prevalence of impaired walking ability, corresponding to gait score > 2, when compared with controls. The effect on walking ability corresponding to gait score > 0 approached significance. 5. Both light-dark programmes reduced the occurrence of TD. Programme B (combined with reduced stocking density), however, had the greater effect. 6. Both light-dark programmes reduced the duration of TI, compared with controls (mean = 426 s) Programme B resulted in a larger reduction (alpha = -156.9 s) than programme A (alpha = -117.0). 7. The proportions of chicks drinking, eating, pecking, scratching, standing and performing vertical wing-shakes increased--both when the 8 h dark period and the reduced stocking density were applied separately and in combination (experiment 2). 8. For all behaviours, except standing, the effect of the dark period was largest in broilers kept at the high stocking density (d 40).
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