Artificial light at night inhibits mating and may reduce survival in a nocturnal moth
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a global change stressor that may be linked to insect population declines. For moths in particular, ALAN has been negatively correlated with species abundance. Moth species that are found in urban areas or along habitat edges may be particularly vulnerable to ALAN. We tested the effects of ALAN on fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) mating and survival by exposing fall webworm to ambient or ALAN treatments in an indoor greenhouse. We analysed our data with chi-square statistical tests and a power analysis. We found that ALAN significantly negatively affects fall webworm mating and had a marginally significant negative impact on fall webworm survival. The effects of ALAN on moth mating are essential to understand as global change factors that reduce mating success may play an important role in purported insect population declines.
Authors
- Lilianna Houston
- Robin M. Tinghitella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0049-5539)
- Shannon M. Murphy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5746-6536)
- Kyan Thompson
- Mikolas R. Sullivan
- Klien G. van Dam
- Dhaval K. Vyas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6038-606X)
- Amarin Gifford
- Mariana Magnus Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9756-3472)
- Gabrielle T. Welsh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8492-2509)
- Todd Bell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7730-2344)
- Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1042-5470)
- Olivia S. Chapman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1793-1656)
- Jennifer L. Hoffman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1495-2275)
- Sabrina DeSoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4829-6499)
- Andrew Feigin
- Sofia Giaritelli
- Amarissa S. Rodriguez-Lewingdon
- Mia E. Moralez
- Kailey G. Hicks
- Dane Dyjak
- Devon Dyjak
- Amanda N. Klingler
- Emma J. Sellers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2111-3883)
- J. D. Reigrut
Institutions
- Vassar College (US)
- University of Denver (US)
- Colorado Department of Education (US)
- PE International (Germany) (DE)
- Cherokee Nation (US)
- Iliff School of Theology (US)
- Evelyn Hone College (ZM)
- Children’s Village (US)
- Denver School of Nursing (US)
- Prairie Vascular Institute (US)
- Honeywell (United States) (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Environmental Science
- Published
- 2025-09-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s44329-025-00030-w
- Primary Topic
- Impact of Light on Environment and Health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- University of Denver