Light pollution not all bad for wildlife – Helps some waders feed at night

Ecologists shed new light on effects of light pollution on wildlife

November 2012. Light pollution is often associated with negative effects on wildlife. Now, ecologists have found that by mimicking a perpetual full moon, the gas flares and electrical lighting along Scotland's Forth estuary are helping shorebirds stock up on more food during the winter to fuel their spring migration. The research is the first to use night-time light data from US military satellites to study animal behaviour.

Coasts and estuaries are most heavily developed
Coasts and estuaries are among the most rapidly developing areas on Earth. Night-time satellite images of the planet show that except Antarctica, continents are ringed with halos of brightly-lit human development. But coasts are also key wildlife sites. Every year, millions of waterbirds arrive from the Arctic to overwinter on UK coasts, yet scientists remain largely in the dark about how these birds respond to the bright lights of coastal cities and industry.

To shed light on the issue, Dr Ross Dwyer and colleagues from the University of Exeter investigated how artificial light affected feeding habits of the common redshank in the Forth estuary, one of Scotland's most industrialised coasts. As well as major industry such as Grangemouth oil refinery and Longannet power station, whose lights and gas flares illuminate the intertidal areas at night, the estuary's pristine salt marsh and mudflats are home to hundreds of thousands of migrating birds each winter.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/light-pollution.html