Hannah Lee
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Member Since 1.14.2009
  • Light Pollution forms 'eco-traps'
    Submitted 9 months ago By itshannah
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    Light Pollution forms 'eco-traps'
    %3Cp%3EBBC-%20An%20international%20team%20of%20researchers%20has%20found%20another%20form%20of%20light%20pollution%20that%20could%20have%20an%20adverse%20effect%20on%20wildlife.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AThe%20scientists%20showed%20that%20as%20well%20as%20direct%20light%20sources%2C%20polarised%20light%20also%20triggered%20potentially%20dangerous%20changes%20in%20many%20species%27%20behaviour.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AThey%20added%20that%20road%20surfaces%20and%20glass%20buildings%20were%20among%20the%20main%20sources%20of%20this%20form%20of%20light%20pollution.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AThe%20findings%20appear%20in%20Frontiers%20in%20Ecology%20and%20the%20Environment.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0ACo-author%20Bruce%20Robertson%2C%20an%20ecologist%20from%20Michigan%20State%20University%2C%20US%2C%20said%20polarised%20light%20from%20structures%20within%20the%20built%20environment%20overwhelmed%20natural%20cues%20that%20controlled%20animal%20behaviour.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%22Environmental%20cues%2C%20such%20as%20the%20intensity%20of%20light%2C%20that%20animals%20use%20to%20make%20decisions%20occur%20at%20different%20levels%20of%20severity%20in%20the%20natural%20world%2C%22%20he%20said.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%22When%20cues%20become%20unnaturally%20intense%2C%20animals%20can%20respond%20unnaturally%20strongly%20to%20them.%22%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AAs%20a%20result%2C%20the%20false%20cues%20could%20create%20an%20%22ecological%20trap%22%20for%20species%20attracted%20by%20the%20light.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDouble%20vision%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0ADr%20Robertson%20said%20that%20water%20was%20the%20primary%20source%20of%20horizontal%20polarised%20light%20in%20the%20natural%20world%2C%20and%20that%20many%20animals%20-%20including%20birds%2C%20insects%20and%20reptiles%20-%20had%20highly%20developed%20polarisation%20vision.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AThis%20particular%20form%20of%20light%20played%20a%20key%20role%20in%20the%20animals%27%20lifecycle%2C%20such%20as%20finding%20breeding%20and%20feeding%20sites%2C%20he%20added.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AA%20well%20documented%20example%20is%20the%20way%20that%20baby%20sea%20turtles%20rely%20on%20the%20direction%20of%20starlight%20and%20moonlight%20reflected%20off%20the%20water%27s%20surface%20in%20order%20to%20help%20them%20find%20the%20ocean%20when%20they%20emerged%20from%20their%20nests.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AYet%2C%20there%20are%20examples%20of%20turtles%20in%20urbanised%20areas%20heading%20towards%20the%20brighter%20buildings%20and%20street%20lamps.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0ADr%20Robertson%20said%20that%20expanding%20urban%20areas%20meant%20that%20there%20were%20more%20structures%20and%20surfaces%20to%20confuse%20wildlife.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%22Any%20kind%20of%20shiny%2C%20black%20object%20-%20oil%2C%20solar%20cells%2C%20asphalt%20-%20causes%20problems%2C%22%20he%20explained.%20%22The%20closer%20they%20are%20to%20wetlands%2C%20the%20bigger%20the%20problem.%22%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%22Light%20from%20the%20sun%20is%20vibrating%20in%20all%20possible%20directions%2C%20but%20after%20bouncing%20off%20smooth%20flat%20surfaces%2C%20like%20water%2C%20it%20only%20vibrates%20in%20the%20horizontal%20direction%3B%20it%20has%20become%20polarised.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%22This%20is%20why%20polarised%20sunglasses%20make%20it%20easier%20for%20us%20to%20see%20on%20a%20bright%20day%20-%20they%20remove%20only%20the%20horizontally%20polarised%20light%20that%20reflects%20off%20water%20and%20roads%2C%22%20he%20told%20BBC%20News.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EFlying%20light%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AThe%20team%20of%20US%20and%20Hungarian%20researchers%20said%20that%20more%20than%20300%20species%20of%20insects%20were%20known%20to%20use%20polarised%20light%20as%20the%20primary%20source%20for%20navigation.%20%22This%20is%20used%20to%20search%20for%20suitable%20water%20bodies%20to%20act%20as%20feeding%2Fbreeding%20habitats%2C%22%20they%20wrote.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%22Because%20of%20their%20strong%20signature%2C%20artificial%20polarising%20surfaces%20-%20asphalt%2C%20gravestones%2C%20cars%2C%20plastic%20sheeting%20and%20glass%20windows%20-%20are%20commonly%20mistaken%20for%20bodies%20of%20water.%22%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AThe%20team%20added%20that%20%22polarised%20light%20pollution%22%20%28PLP%29%20differed%20from%20traditional%20forms%20of%20light%20pollution%2C%20called%20ecological%20light%20pollution%20%28ELP%29%20because%20it%20occured%20at%20any%20time%20during%20the%20day.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%22Because%20ELP%20results%20from%20the%20incidence%20of%20visible%20light%20at%20times%20and%20places%20where%20it%20does%20not%20occur%20naturally%2C%20ELP%20is%20predominantly%20a%20night-time%20phenomenon.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0A%22In%20contrast%2C%20PLP%20can%20occur%20during%20both%20light%20and%20dark%20cycles%20in%20terrestrial%20environments.%22%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AThe%20study%20also%20suggested%20that%20PLP%20could%20also%20disrupt%20entire%20food%20webs%20if%20predators%20followed%20their%20prey%20into%20the%20urban%20%22ecological%20trap%22%2C%20or%20if%20a%20generation%20of%20prey%20species%20was%20wiped%20out%20without%20reproducing.%3Cbr%20%2F%3E%0AIt%20adde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    Bush: I would have done some things differently
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    Obama: Challenges real, but 'they will be met'
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    Snuggie gets a warm embrace from pop culture
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