![]() ![]() Also, light at night can interfere with the activity and behaviour of nocturnal moths 7 and disrupt plant-pollinator interactions with negative consequences for pollination 8. Effects of light at night may as well cascade between trophic levels, for example by changes in herbivory 4, 5, which can be both resource and predation controlled 6. ![]() For example, it has been suggested that artificial light at night can have important consequences for plants that have adjusted to natural light–dark cycles 3. The worldwide increasing light pollution causes a distortion of natural light–dark cycles, with consequences for the survival and reproduction of organisms and the timing of biological activities 2. We show that artificial light with different colours impacts plant–insect interactions differently, with direct consequences for plant fitness.Ĭontinuous human population growth and related urbanisation cause an increase in artificially illuminated areas by approximately 2.2% during recent years 1. bicruris was however significantly higher under green and white light and a significantly lower proportion of fertilized ovules was found under green light. We found no difference in the proportion of fertilized flowers among the treatments. We compared the proportion of fertilized flowers and fertilized ovules as well as the infestation of fruits by Hadena bicruris, a pollinating seed predator. We studied the effect of artificial lighting on plant–insect interactions in the Silene latifolia– Hadena bicruris system using a field set-up with four different light treatments: red, green, white and a dark control. These effects can potentially be reduced by using different light spectra than white light. Therefore, plant–insect interactions may be affected when exposed to artificial illumination. Many plants rely on insects in order to reproduce but these insects are known to be disturbed by artificial light. By changing the natural light–dark cycle, artificial lighting can affect the functioning of natural ecosystems. Rapid human population growth and associated urbanization lead to increased artificial illumination of the environment. ![]()
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