ArticleBiology letters2022
Artificial light at night may decrease predation risk for terrestrial insects.
Article in Biology letters, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Artificial light at night alters foraging behavior of freshwater amphipods depending on the light spectrum and the presence of predation cues.Current zoology · 2025Article
- A framework for untangling the consequences of artificial light at night on species interactions.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Review
- Artificial light at night may decrease predation risk for terrestrial insects.Biology letters · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is thought to be detrimental for terrestrial insect populations. While there exists evidence for lower abundance under ALAN, underlying mechanisms remain unclear. One mechanism by which ALAN may contribute to insect declines may be through facilitating increased predation. We investigated this by experimentally manipulating insect-substitute abundance under differential levels of light. We used insect-containing birdfeed placed at varying distances from streetlights as a proxy for terrestrial insects, inspecting the rate of predation before and after dusk (when streetlights are, respectively, off and on). We found that there was a significantly greater effect of increasing distance on predation after dusk, suggesting that predation was actually reduced by greater levels of artificial light. This may occur because ALAN also increases the vulnerability of insectivores to their own predators. Implications for foraging behaviour and alternative explanations are discussed.
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Registered trials
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