Long-term exposure to artificial light at night in the wild decreases survival and growth of a coral reef fish

2021/06/09 by Jules Schligler, Daphne Cortese, Ricardo Beldade +2 · 58 citations
Environmental Science · #Artificial reef #Biology #Coral reef #Ecology #Fish <Actinopterygii> #Fishery #Gasterosteus #Impact of Light on Environment and Health #Juvenile #Land Use and Ecosystem Services #Light pollution #Netting #Predation #Reef

paper · doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.0454

published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences 288(1952), 20210454 (Royal Society)

openalex publication_date 2021/06/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasing anthropogenic pollutant, closely associated with human population density, and now well recognized in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. However, we have a relatively poor understanding of the effects of ALAN in the marine realm. Here, we carried out a field experiment in the coral reef lagoon of Moorea, French Polynesia, to investigate the effects of long-term exposure (18–23 months) to chronic light pollution at night on the survival and growth of wild juvenile orange-fin anemonefish, Amphiprion chrysopterus . Long-term exposure to environmentally relevant underwater illuminance (mean: 4.3 lux), reduced survival (mean: 36%) and growth (mean: 44%) of juvenile anemonefish compared to that of juveniles exposed to natural moonlight underwater (mean: 0.03 lux). Our study carried out in an ecologically realistic situation in which the direct effects of artificial lighting on juvenile anemonefish are combined with the indirect consequences of artificial lighting on other species, such as their competitors, predators, and prey, revealed the negative impacts of ALAN on life-history traits. Not only are there immediate impacts of ALAN on mortality, but the decreased growth of surviving individuals may also have considerable fitness consequences later in life. Future studies examining the mechanisms behind these findings are vital to understand how organisms can cope and survive in nature under this globally increasing pollutant.

Citations

• Chronobiology by moonlight

Cited by

• Carry-over effect of artificial light at night on daytime mating activity in an ecologically important detritivore, the amphipod Gammarus pulex
• Artificial Light Increases Nighttime Prevalence of Predatory Fishes, Altering Community Composition on Coral Reefs
• Effects of artificial light at night on the diurnal risk-taking behaviour of a gregarious reef fish
• Artificial light at night and warming impact grazing rates and gonad index of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii
• Dietary melatonin supplementation mitigates the negative effects of artificial light at night in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus
• Artificial light at night suppresses the metabolic response of a coral reef fish to a virtual predator
• Artificial light at night during early development directly affects embryonic but not larval quality in a wild coral reef fish
• The impacts of artificial light at night on the ecology of temperate and tropical reefs. [europepmc]
• Impacts of artificial light at night on the early life history of two ecosystem engineers. [europepmc]
• Embryonic exposure to artificial light at night impairs learning abilities and their covariance with behavioural traits in teleost fish. [europepmc]
• Artificial light at night and warming impact grazing rates and gonad index of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii . [europepmc]
• Artificial Light Increases Nighttime Prevalence of Predatory Fishes, Altering Community Composition on Coral Reefs. [europepmc]
• Artificial light at night during early development directly affects embryonic but not larval quality in a wild coral reef fish. [europepmc]
• Dietary melatonin supplementation mitigates the negative effects of artificial light at night in the Pacific field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus . [europepmc]
• Artificial Light at Night Consistently Impacts Avian Physiology and Behaviour: A Meta-Analysis. [europepmc]
• A transcriptome analysis revealing the molecular mechanism of light intensity-driven color variation in the skin of Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus). [europepmc]

Related

• Artificial Light Increases Nighttime Prevalence of Predatory Fishes, Altering Community Composition on Coral Reefs
• Artificial light at night during early development directly affects embryonic but not larval quality in a wild coral reef fish
• Artificial light at night suppresses the metabolic response of a coral reef fish to a virtual predator
• Artificial light at night reduces predation and herbivory rates in a nearshore reef
• Effects of artificial light at night on the diurnal risk-taking behaviour of a gregarious reef fish