Light Pollution and Ecophysiology

Artificial light at night is widespread and increasing at a rate of around 2-6% a year worldwide. Because it has been introduced in places, times and at intensities at which it does not naturally occur, artificial light has becoming a potential threat to biodiversity. Despite the ubiquity of artificial light, its effects on ecosystems, especially freshwaters, have not yet been extensively studied. Our research thus largely focuses on biological impacts of artificial light on a wide range of biological processes, from gene expression to land-water-interactions and ecosystem functions. At the moment we are running large-scale field experiments at two different ecosystems: we assess the impact of streetlights on grassland-ditch systems in the Dark Sky reserve Westhavelland (BfN/BMUB) and the impact of simulated skyglow at LakeLab in Lake Stechlin (SAW ILES). Another important research domain is getting a comprehensive quantitative understanding of the amount of light in the nocturnal (SAW ILES) and the diurnal (IGB-Frontiers, SAW CONNECT) environment in a combination of satellite and ground based measurements for monitoring of and with light (remote sensing). In addition, our aim is to directly transfer knowledge into society, e.g. in a combination of transdisciplinary communication and citizen science involvement (EU Horizon-2020 STARS4ALL, BfN/BMUB).