2025/12/01 by Yuhan He, Huan Zhang, Jiale Guan +4 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · Neuroscience · #Circadian rhythm and melatonin #Impact of Light on Environment and Health #Retinal Development and Disorders
paper · pdf · doi:10.1002/ece3.72624
openalex publication_date 2025/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/12/11 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
to investigate how historical exposure to ALAN influences life-history and morphological responses when exposed to ALAN under laboratory conditions. The experiment spanned three generations and included clonal populations from historically exposed and unexposed lakes. Our results show that historically exposed populations have longer lifespans and clutch intervals than unexposed populations, irrespective of the presence or absence of laboratory ALAN. In the presence of laboratory ALAN, individuals from historically exposed populations mature earlier and produce more offspring, whereas individuals from unexposed populations show no changes in maturation or offspring production but have reduced spine length. Under laboratory ALAN, all populations have shorter clutch intervals and lifespans, reduced reproductive success, and smaller eyes and body sizes. Interestingly, the negative effect of laboratory ALAN on reproductive success intensifies across generations for historically unexposed populations, whereas the effect weakens for exposed populations. These findings indicate that historically exposed populations have partially adapted to ALAN whereas unexposed populations respond maladaptively and suffer reduced reproductive success across generations. This emphasizes the need to explore the evolutionary impacts of light pollution, its ecological consequences, and the potential of organisms to adapt to the stressor.