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How is light pollution impacting our coastal ecosystems?

Posted by Todd Oakley | California, United States

Living things depend on light cues for knowing the season, time of day, and depth in the water. In the oceans, many organisms also use living light, bioluminescence, to communicate. As humans develop the coasts, artificial light is flooding our coastal oceans. How does this deluge of artificial light impact the lives and interactions of the organisms that live there? Can those animals that use light to communicate still survive when artificial light floods their environment? Perhaps regulations on coastal lighting can allow humans to be friendlier neighbors. Perhaps certain colors or intensities of light do less damage. Perhaps there are particularly sensitive organisms who need more attention with respect to light pollution.