Lights, camera, attraction? : effects of artificial light at night on arthropods

Over the past few centuries, human activity has introduced astoundingly bright light to the environment at a rapidly accelerating pace. Artificial light at night (ALAN) has detrimental effects on a wide range of organisms, including arthropods. To minimise impact, we must understand whether some taxa are more sensitive than others and whether certain lights are less perturbing. I designed a novel tool for introducing and monitoring ALAN, called ALANizer. I then installed 12 ALANizers in hedgerows and monitored arthropod activity using pitfall traps. I found that ALAN presence increased the total biomass of captured arthropods, the number of arthropods captured, and the total biomass divided by total count (average specimen weight per pitfall trap). I captured more Carabidae (ground beetles) and Isopoda (isopods) under lit compared to unlit treatments. I captured fewer Collembola (springtails) under amber-light treatments compared to white-light and unlit treatments. These findings reinforce existing evidence that arthropods respond to ALAN differently across taxa. However, I found few differences in taxonomic responses to amber LEDs compared to white LEDs.