Wavelength-dependent effects of artificial light at night on phytoplankton growth and community structure

Diamantopoulou, C., Christoforou, E., Dominoni, D. M. , Kaiserli, E. , Czyzewski, J., Mirzai, N. and Spatharis, S. (2021) Wavelength-dependent effects of artificial light at night on phytoplankton growth and community structure. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, 288(1953), 20210525. (doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0525) (PMID:34157871)

Abstract

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a disruptive form of pollution, impacting physiological and behavioural processes that may scale up to population and community levels. Evidence from terrestrial habitats show that the severity and type of impact depend on the wavelength and intensity of ALAN; however, research on marine organisms is still limited. Here, we experimentally investigated the effect of different ALAN colours on marine primary producers. We tested the effect of green (525 nm), red (624 nm) and broad-spectrum white LED ALAN, compared to a dark control, on the green microalgae Tetraselmis suesica and a diatom assemblage. We show that green ALAN boosted chlorophyll production and abundance in T. suesica. All ALAN wavelengths affected assemblage biomass and diversity, with red and green ALAN having the strongest effects, leading to higher overall abundance and selective dominance of specific diatom species, some known to cause harmful algal blooms. Our findings show that green and red ALAN should be used with caution as alternative LED colours in coastal areas, where there might be a need to strike a balance between the effects of green and red light on marine primary producers with the benefit they appear to bring to other organisms.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was funded by the A.G. Leventis Foundation and Nissad Development Company (sponsors had no further involvement in the research).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kaiserli, Dr Eirini and Dominoni, Dr Davide and Christoforou, Miss Eleni and Diamantopoulou, Ms Christina and Spatharis, Dr Sofie and Czyzewski, Mr Jakub and Mirzai, Mr Nosrat

Creator Roles

Diamantopoulou, C.: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft
Christoforou, E.: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – review and editing
Dominoni, D. M.: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing – review and editing
Kaiserli, E.: Conceptualization, Resources, Writing – review and editing
Czyzewski, J.: Methodology, Writing – review and editing
Mirzai, N.: Methodology, Writing – review and editing
Spatharis, S.: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Diamantopoulou, C., Christoforou, E., Dominoni, D. M., Kaiserli, E., Czyzewski, J., Mirzai, N., and Spatharis, S.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Molecular Biosciences; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Life Sciences; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences
• Publisher: The Royal Society
• ISSN: 0962-8452
• ISSN (Online): 1471-2954
• Published Online: 23 June 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences 288(1953): 20210525
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher