Artificial light at night has transformed the way we live over the last 150 years, but it can have downsides for both humans and wildlife. Artificial light at night can cause:
- Disruption to plant pollination because many pollinators, like moths, are nocturnal.
- Changes to flowering and plant reproduction cycles.
- Changes to sleep, hibernation or torpor (winter dormancy) of wildlife.
- Difficulties for some animals to hide from predators or to find food.
- Changes to animal migration, dispersal and orientation.
- Delays to animal breeding.
Artificial light at night is increasing globally and across SEQ. The good news is that light pollution, unlike other forms of pollution, is relatively simple to fix at a small scale, and it disappears fast, literally at the speed of light!
The greatest impediment to combating light pollution is awareness. Most people do not know it exists or how widespread the problem is as light polluted night skies can still appear black to our eyes.
Last year, the Australian Government updated a useful publication, National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife that provides detailed information about the different types of light and how animals perceive and respond to different lightwaves. It details the impacts on marine turtles, seabirds, bats and other wildlife. It states that artificial light is a significant stressor for invertebrates and is a contributor to the well-studied global declines in invertebrates.
The Australasian Dark Sky Alliance is an organisation that advocates for the preservation of the night-time environment. Everyone can do their bit to help, especially Land for Wildlife members with properties near bushland areas.
Sunshine Coast Council is proposing to establish a Dark Sky Reserve in the Sunshine Coast hinterland under the International Dark Sky Places Program. A Dark Sky Reserve would support responsible lighting practices and bring communities together in celebration of the night sky. More information can be found on the Sunshine Coast Council website.
Article and photo by Dr Ken Wishaw
Australasian Dark Sky Alliance
The National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife (2023) suggest that landholders can help by:
• Start with natural darkness and only add light for a specific purpose.
• Use adaptive light controls to manage the timing, intensity and colour of light.
• Light only the area needed.
• Use low-intensity lighting and keep it close to the ground.
• Use non-reflective, dark-coloured surfaces near lighting fixtures.
• Avoid cool white lights – use warm yellow-amber colours with a low CCT (correlated colour temperature) of 1,000-3,000 K (Kelvins).
National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife available from www.dcceew.gov.au
Steps to assess your home’s outdoor lighting: www.darksky.org/get-involved/home-lighting-assessment/