Artificial light at night shapes marine early hard-bottom communities in Madeira Island, NE Atlantic.

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Main Authors: Piazzese, Laura, Ramminger, Elisa, Ramalhosa, Patrício, Schäfer, Susanne, Canning-Clode, João, Lenz, Mark
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: Marine pollution bulletin 2026
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author Piazzese, Laura
Ramminger, Elisa
Ramalhosa, Patrício
Schäfer, Susanne
Canning-Clode, João
Lenz, Mark
author_facet Piazzese, Laura
Ramminger, Elisa
Ramalhosa, Patrício
Schäfer, Susanne
Canning-Clode, João
Lenz, Mark
Piazzese, Laura
Ramminger, Elisa
Ramalhosa, Patrício
Schäfer, Susanne
Canning-Clode, João
Lenz, Mark
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Artificial light at night shapes marine early hard-bottom communities in Madeira Island, NE Atlantic. Piazzese, Laura Ramminger, Elisa Ramalhosa, Patrício Schäfer, Susanne Canning-Clode, João Lenz, Mark Portugal Ecosystem Light Biodiversity Rhodophyta Aquatic Organisms Hydrozoa Environmental Monitoring Lighting Artificial light at night (ALAN) is increasingly recognised as a pollutant that modifies natural light conditions and negatively impacts terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Marine hard-bottom communities are important components of coastal ecosystems, supporting diverse sessile organisms and early successional processes that can reveal community-level responses to environmental changes. This study investigated the influence of ALAN on early successional marine hard-bottom communities in a field experiment conducted in Madeira, Portugal. Simulated outdoor LED lighting systems were used to expose submerged PVC settlement panels to white and yellow light in order to assess their effects on the establishing communities over a three-month period. Light of both colours significantly altered community composition and the abundances of colonisers such as the hydrozoan Pennaria disticha and the red alga Polysiphonia sertularioides in comparison to assemblages that simultaneously established on non-illuminated surfaces. In general, ALAN-exposed communities exhibited a higher species richness but a lower evenness compared to non-exposed assemblages. Our results reveal the potential of ALAN to alter the biodiversity and structure of shallow-water, benthic communities and underscore the need for further research to assess the consequences of anthropogenic light emissions for coastal marine ecosystems.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_41175518
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2026
publisher Marine pollution bulletin
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Artificial light at night shapes marine early hard-bottom communities in Madeira Island, NE Atlantic.
Piazzese, Laura
Ramminger, Elisa
Ramalhosa, Patrício
Schäfer, Susanne
Canning-Clode, João
Lenz, Mark
Portugal
Ecosystem
Light
Biodiversity
Rhodophyta
Aquatic Organisms
Hydrozoa
Environmental Monitoring
Lighting
Artificial light at night shapes marine early hard-bottom communities in Madeira Island, NE Atlantic. Piazzese, Laura Ramminger, Elisa Ramalhosa, Patrício Schäfer, Susanne Canning-Clode, João Lenz, Mark Portugal Ecosystem Light Biodiversity Rhodophyta Aquatic Organisms Hydrozoa Environmental Monitoring Lighting Artificial light at night (ALAN) is increasingly recognised as a pollutant that modifies natural light conditions and negatively impacts terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Marine hard-bottom communities are important components of coastal ecosystems, supporting diverse sessile organisms and early successional processes that can reveal community-level responses to environmental changes. This study investigated the influence of ALAN on early successional marine hard-bottom communities in a field experiment conducted in Madeira, Portugal. Simulated outdoor LED lighting systems were used to expose submerged PVC settlement panels to white and yellow light in order to assess their effects on the establishing communities over a three-month period. Light of both colours significantly altered community composition and the abundances of colonisers such as the hydrozoan Pennaria disticha and the red alga Polysiphonia sertularioides in comparison to assemblages that simultaneously established on non-illuminated surfaces. In general, ALAN-exposed communities exhibited a higher species richness but a lower evenness compared to non-exposed assemblages. Our results reveal the potential of ALAN to alter the biodiversity and structure of shallow-water, benthic communities and underscore the need for further research to assess the consequences of anthropogenic light emissions for coastal marine ecosystems.
title Artificial light at night shapes marine early hard-bottom communities in Madeira Island, NE Atlantic.
topic Portugal
Ecosystem
Light
Biodiversity
Rhodophyta
Aquatic Organisms
Hydrozoa
Environmental Monitoring
Lighting
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41175518/