Light pollution from coastal cities is causing coral reefs to spawn outside their optimal reproductive times, reducing the chances of coral egg fertilization and new coral growth. The ALICE project found that corals exposed to artificial light at night spawned closer to the full moon compared to tho
se on unlit reefs. Delaying night-time lighting in coastal regions could help mitigate this harm, but may raise economic and safety concerns.
However, using a combination of light pollution data and spawning observations, researchers were able to show for the first time that corals exposed to artificial light at night are spawning one to three days closer to the full moon compared to those on unlit reefs. That study found that at a depth of one meter, 1.9 million sq km of coastal ocean are exposed to biologically important ALAN .
Dr. Thomas Davies, Lecturer in Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth, is the study’s lead author and also principal investigator of the ALICE project. He said: “Corals are critical for the health of the global ocean, but are being increasingly damaged by human activity. This study shows it is not just changes in the ocean that are impacting them, but the continued development of coastal cities as we try and accommodate the growing global population.
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