Light pollution may harm amphibians: Study

Artificial sources of light at night time may harm amphibian populations, a study has found.

Researchers exposed wood frogs to a control and two anthropogenic light conditions: intensified daytime illuminance and artificial light at night (ALAN).

The study, published in the Environmental Pollution, found that both the intensified daytime illuminance treatments and the ALAN treatment decreased hatching success in tadpoles.

"Research on the effects of light pollution has recently seen a surge in popularity," said Jessica Hua, an Assistant Professor at Binghamton University in the US.

"It's difficult to find any place on Earth that is not affected by even minimal light pollution. We recognised a gap in the research and realised that not much was known about how light pollution can impact amphibians," Hua said in a statement.

"Since amphibians are sensitive to environmental changes, they make great models for studying how pollution of any type can impact other species," she said.

Tadpoles