Headline Image by Rolf Nylinder.
In a recent article in The Revelator, an initiative of the Center for Biological Diversity, Liz Perkins lays out the harsh reality of how much light pollution is disturbing aquatic insect hatches and life.
According to Liz, “Drifting puts aquatic insects at risk of being eaten by visually oriented predators like trout, which will consume any objects they can see floating in the water. In order to decrease this risk, insects are more likely to drift at night, even avoiding drifting on nights with a full moon.”
Light pollution makes it far easier for the fish and birds seeking a quick buggy meal to spot their quarry and strike. This may seem like a marginal issue, but as our streams are exposed to more nighttime light pollution, more and more insects will fall victim and eventually leave the water system.
Liz concludes her article saying this, “There’s still a lot left to learn about the effects of light pollution on the insects that live in our natural stream and river environments, and the river ecosystems themselves. My research continues, and I hope that more scientists will take up the mantle of better understanding how lights affect these little-seen but important ecological processes.”
To read more about the issue, check out the rest of Liz Perkins’ article, here!
Source: The Relevator.
List of 2019 the Most Endangered American Rivers Coming Soon
