Artificial light at night alters the locomotor behavior of the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus.

Autor: Sanna G; Dipartimento di Biologia, CoNISMa, Università di Pisa, via Derna No.1, Pisa 56126, Italy., Domenici P; IBF-CNR, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Area di Ricerca San Cataldo, via G. Moruzzi No.1, Pisa 56124, Italy., Maggi E; Dipartimento di Biologia, CoNISMa, Università di Pisa, via Derna No.1, Pisa 56126, Italy. Electronic address: elena.maggi@unipi.it.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Marine pollution bulletin [Mar Pollut Bull] 2024 Sep; Vol. 206, pp. 116782. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 02.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116782
Abstrakt: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a recognized source of anthropogenic disturbance, although its effects on biological systems have not been fully explored. Within marine ecosystems, coastal areas are the most impacted by ALAN. Here, we focused on the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, which has a crucial role in shaping benthic ecosystems. Our objective was to investigate if ALAN affects the nocturnal locomotor behavior of P. lividus. A semi-controlled field study was conducted along a rocky shore near a promenade lit at night. Results suggested a potential impact of ALAN on the locomotor behavior of sea urchins. Individuals of P. lividus tended to move away from the light sources while its directions in dark conditions were uniform. Their locomotor performance, in presence of ALAN, was characterized by shorter latency time, lower sinuosity and higher mean speed at increasing light intensity, with potential cascading effect at the ecosystem level.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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