Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Feb;28(5):5036-5048.
doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-11824-7. Epub 2020 Dec 19.

Slowly seeing the light: an integrative review on ecological light pollution as a potential threat for mollusks

Ahmed A A Hussein  1   2   3 , Erik Bloem  4 , István Fodor  5 , El-Sayed Baz  6 , Menerva M Tadros  7 , Maha F M Soliman  6 , Nahla S El-Shenawy  6 , Joris M Koene  4
Affiliations
Review

Slowly seeing the light: an integrative review on ecological light pollution as a potential threat for mollusks

Ahmed A A Hussein et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Seasonal changes in the natural light condition play a pivotal role in the regulation of many biological processes in organisms. Disruption of this natural condition via the growing loss of darkness as a result of anthropogenic light pollution has been linked to species-wide shifts in behavioral and physiological traits. This review starts with a brief overview of the definition of light pollution and the most recent insights into the perception of light. We then go on to review the evidence for some adverse effects of ecological light pollution on different groups of animals and will focus on mollusks. Taken together, the available evidence suggests a critical role for light pollution as a recent, growing threat to the regulation of various biological processes in these animals, with the potential to disrupt ecosystem stability. The latter indicates that ecological light pollution is an environmental threat that needs to be taken seriously and requires further research attention.

Keywords: Artificial light; Biorhythm; Mollusca; Reproduction; Slugs; Snails; Zeitgeber.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The conceptional framework of ecological light pollution. There are many sources of artificial light at night that can be perceived by animals through different light-sensing organs. The effects of artificial light are mediated by the light photoperiods, wavelength, and/or light intensities of artificial light sources. These characteristics of light may impact separately or combined on one or more internal processes. The combination of two or more of such effects may lead to disruption of environmental stability
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

  • The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health.
    Landrigan PJ, Raps H, Cropper M, Bald C, Brunner M, Canonizado EM, Charles D, Chiles TC, Donohue MJ, Enck J, Fenichel P, Fleming LE, Ferrier-Pages C, Fordham R, Gozt A, Griffin C, Hahn ME, Haryanto B, Hixson R, Ianelli H, James BD, Kumar P, Laborde A, Law KL, Martin K, Mu J, Mulders Y, Mustapha A, Niu J, Pahl S, Park Y, Pedrotti ML, Pitt JA, Ruchirawat M, Seewoo BJ, Spring M, Stegeman JJ, Suk W, Symeonides C, Takada H, Thompson RC, Vicini A, Wang Z, Whitman E, Wirth D, Wolff M, Yousuf AK, Dunlop S. Landrigan PJ, et al. Ann Glob Health. 2023 Mar 21;89(1):23. doi: 10.5334/aogh.4056. eCollection 2023. Ann Glob Health. 2023. PMID: 36969097 Free PMC article. Review.
  • How ecological communities respond to artificial light at night.
    Sanders D, Gaston KJ. Sanders D, et al. J Exp Zool A Ecol Integr Physiol. 2018 Oct;329(8-9):394-400. doi: 10.1002/jez.2157. Epub 2018 Apr 14. J Exp Zool A Ecol Integr Physiol. 2018. PMID: 29656458 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Introduction to the Symposium: Effects of Light Pollution Across Diverse Natural Systems.
    Kernbach ME, Miller C, Alaasam V, Ferguson S, Francis CD. Kernbach ME, et al. Integr Comp Biol. 2021 Oct 4;61(3):1089-1097. doi: 10.1093/icb/icab157. Integr Comp Biol. 2021. PMID: 34251459
  • Artificial light at night: a global disruptor of the night-time environment.
    Bará S, Falchi F. Bará S, et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2023 Dec 18;378(1892):20220352. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0352. Epub 2023 Oct 30. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2023. PMID: 37899010 Free PMC article. Review.
  • The loss of ecosystem-services emerging from artificial light at night.
    Abraham H, Scantlebury DM, Zubidat AE. Abraham H, et al. Chronobiol Int. 2019 Feb;36(2):296-298. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2018.1534122. Epub 2018 Oct 19. Chronobiol Int. 2019. PMID: 30339482
See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abt KF, Schultz G. Auswirkungen der Lichtemissionen einer Gro\s sgewächshausanlage auf den nächtlichen Vogelzug. Corax. 1995;16:17–29.
    1. Albertano P, Barsanti L, Passarelli V, Gualtieri P. A complex photoreceptive structure in the cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. Micron. 2000;31:27–34. - PubMed
    1. Arendt D. The evolution of cell types in animals: emerging principles from molecular studies. Nat Rev Genet. 2008;9:868–882. - PubMed
    1. Arendt D, Tessmar K, de Campos-Baptista M-IM, Dorresteijn A, Wittbrodt J. Development of pigment-cup eyes in the polychaete Platynereis dumerilii and evolutionary conservation of larval eyes in Bilateria. Development. 2002;129:1143–1154. - PubMed
    1. Arendt D, Tessmar-Raible K, Snyman H, Dorresteijn AW, Wittbrodt J. Ciliary photoreceptors with a vertebrate-type opsin in an invertebrate brain. Science. 2004;306:869–871. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources