Artificial light at night desynchronizes strictly seasonal reproduction in a wild mammal

Change in day length is an important cue for reproductive activation in seasonally breeding animals to ensure that the timing of greatest maternal investment (e.g. lactation in mammals) coincides with favourable environmental conditions (e.g. peak productivity). However, artificial light at night ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2015-10, Vol.282 (1816), p.20151745-20151745
Main Authors: Robert, Kylie A., Lesku, John A., Partecke, Jesko, Chambers, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anthropogenic Disturbance
Circadian Disruption
Cities
Light - adverse effects
Light Pollution
Macropodidae - physiology
Melatonin
Melatonin - physiology
Reproduction - radiation effects
Trophic Mismatch
Western Australia
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Summary:Change in day length is an important cue for reproductive activation in seasonally breeding animals to ensure that the timing of greatest maternal investment (e.g. lactation in mammals) coincides with favourable environmental conditions (e.g. peak productivity). However, artificial light at night has the potential to interfere with the perception of such natural cues. Following a 5-year study on two populations of wild marsupial mammals exposed to different night-time levels of anthropogenic light, we show that light pollution in urban environments masks seasonal changes in ambient light cues, suppressing melatonin levels and delaying births in the tammar wallaby. These results highlight a previously unappreciated relationship linking artificial light at night with induced changes in mammalian reproductive physiology, and the potential for larger-scale impacts at the population level.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2015.1745