The artificial light that emanates at night from port facilities, ships and coastal cities and towns could be altering the composition of marine invertebrate communities, something that, over time, will end up having a marked effect on ocean ecosystems.
This has been shown by a team of ecologists from the universities of Exeter and Bangor in a study published in the journal Biology Letters , of the Royal Society. According to these experts, who focused their research on the Menai Strait, off Wales, invertebrate larvae use light radiation to locate the most suitable habitats in which to settle, grow and reproduce.
In this sense, artificial light can both prevent and encourage many species to colonize a certain region. Some, such as certain polychaete annelids, are attached to the case of boats and other structures, which they end up damaging. The new essay maintains, precisely, that artificial light favors this phenomenon and alters the distribution of these organisms in nature.
Scientists indicate that increasing coastal urbanization is leading to a large increase in light pollution. It seems that this has a greater impact in tropical regions, where the waters tend to be clearer. In them, the light penetrates to a greater depth and affects more individuals, such as coral larvae.
Image: Tom Davies, University of Exeter
