Chronic exposure to dim artificial light at night decreases fecundity and adult survival in Drosophila melanogaster

May 14, 2017Journal of insect physiology

Long-term dim artificial light at night lowers reproduction and survival in fruit flies

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Abstract

Chronic exposure to artificial light at night above 1 lx is linked to reduced adult survival in Drosophila melanogaster.

The presence of light at night (1, 10, and 100 lx) significantly reduced the likelihood of female flies starting to lay eggs and the total number of eggs produced.
Juvenile development times and the probability of becoming an adult were similar across all lighting treatments.
This study highlights a potential shift in multiple life history traits due to artificial light at night, which may vary by species.
A deeper understanding of the broader impacts of artificial light at night and the mechanisms involved is needed as urban lighting continues to increase.

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The presence of artificial light at night is expanding in geographical range and increasing in intensity to such an extent that species living in urban environments may never experience natural darkness. The negative ecological consequences of artificial night lighting have been identified in several key life history traits across multiple taxa (albeit with a strong vertebrate focus); comparable data for invertebrates is lacking. In this study, we explored the effect of chronic exposure to different night-time lighting intensities on growth, reproduction and survival in Drosophila melanogaster. We reared three generations of flies under identical daytime light conditions (2600lx) and one of four ecologically relevant ALAN treatments (0, 1, 10 or 100lx), then explored variation in oviposition, number of eggs produced, juvenile growth and survival and adult survival. We found that, in the presence of light at night (1, 10 and 100lx treatments), the probability of a female commencing oviposition and the number of eggs laid was significantly reduced. This did not translate into differences at the juvenile phase: juvenile development times and the probability of eclosing as an adult were comparable across all treatments. However, we demonstrate for the first time a direct link between chronic exposure to light at night (greater than 1lx) and adult survival. Our data highlight that ALAN has the capacity to cause dramatic shifts in multiple life history traits at both the individual and population level. Such shifts are likely to be species-specific, however a more in depth understanding of the broad-scale impact of ALAN and the relevant mechanisms driving biological change is urgently required as we move into an increasing brightly lit future.

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Chronic exposure to dim artificial light at night decreases fecundity and adult survival in Drosophila melanogaster

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