Part-night exposure to artificial light at night has more detrimental effects on aphid colonies than fully lit nights.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
; 378(1892): 20220357, 2023 Dec 18.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37899021
Artificial light at night (ALAN) threatens natural ecosystems globally. While ALAN research is increasing, little is known about how ALAN affects plants and interactions with other organisms. We explored the effects of ALAN on plant defence and plant-insect interactions using barley (Hordeum vulgare) and the English grain aphid (Sitobion avenae). Plants were exposed to 'full' or 'part' nights of 15-20 lux ALAN, or no ALAN 'control' nights, to test the effects of ALAN on plant growth and defence. Although plant growth was only minimally affected by ALAN, aphid colony growth and aphid maturation were reduced significantly by ALAN treatments. Importantly, we found strong differences between full-night and part-night ALAN treatments. Contrary to our expectations, part ALAN had stronger negative effects on aphid colony growth than full ALAN. Defence-associated gene expression was affected in some cases by ALAN, but also positively correlated with aphid colony size, suggesting that the effects of ALAN on plant defences are indirect, and regulated via direct disruption of aphid colonies rather than via ALAN-induced upregulation of defences. Mitigating ecological side effects of ALAN is a complex problem, as reducing exposure to ALAN increased its negative impact on insect herbivores. This article is part of the theme issue 'Light pollution in complex ecological systems'.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Áfidos
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Alemania
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido