The rise of light-emitting diodes: do different colours of artificial light at night matter for bat disturbance?

Jans, Christopher (2021) The rise of light-emitting diodes: do different colours of artificial light at night matter for bat disturbance? Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

Preview	Text Thesis Christopher Jans.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview
	Text toestemming.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (134kB)

Abstract

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasing problem for wildlife. ALAN can have detrimental effects on physiological processes and other factors in animals. One group of species that is particularly affected by ALAN are the bats (Chiroptera). Predictions are that the amount of ALAN will grow with 6% each year. However, recent innovations have given rise to the LED lamps. These lamps are much more energy efficient, but can also be adjusted to virtually any colour. Studies indicate that light disturbance varies between colours, making the rise of LED light an opportunity to mitigate the negative effects of ALAN. Two additional important factors concerning the effect of ALAN on bats are the fact that light can function as a barrier and the mitigating effect of tree cover. The question that rises is what the exact effect of light colours is on bats and what the role of tree cover and the barrier effect are. To answer this question, a literature review was conducted on this topic. Various results of studies on the effect of light colours and LED were compared in an attempt to find an answer to these questions. In general, LED lamps seem to be less disturbing than conventional lamps and light of shorter wavelengths (white/green) seems to be more disturbing than light of longer wavelengths (red/amber). However, dark areas are always preferred over illuminated areas. Tree cover can mediate the effect of ALAN in the form of a natural cover for ALAN. Results on the topic of lig

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Helm, B.
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	19 Jul 2021 13:26
Last Modified:	19 Jul 2021 13:26
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/25329

Actions (login required)

View Item