Lifelong artificial night light changes calling and movement patterns in two-spotted crickets

Artificial light at night (ALAN) significantly disrupts the behaviour of field crickets.

• Control crickets maintained a regular rhythm, stridulating at night and being active during the day.
• Exposure to ALAN altered both the timing and level of nocturnal and diurnal activity in crickets.
• Crickets exhibited free-running patterns with notable changes in the timing and variability of their activity periods.
• The extent of behavioural disruption was dependent on the intensity of the artificial light.
• Differences in activity periods for stridulation and locomotion suggest the potential presence of two separate biological clocks.
• ALAN may lead to a decoupling of locomotion and stridulation behaviours at the individual level and disrupt synchronization within populations.

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