A Systematic Review of Research Investigating the Combined Ecological Impact of Anthropogenic Noise and Artificial Light at Night

Wouter Halfwerk,Paul Jerem

doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.765950

Wouter Halfwerk, Paul Jerem

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.765950

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Abstract

Levels of anthropogenic noise and artificial light at night (ALAN) are rapidly rising on a global scale. Both sensory pollutants are well known to affect animal behavior and physiology, which can lead to substantial ecological impacts. Most studies on noise or light pollution to date have focused on single stressor impacts, studying both pollutants in isolation despite their high spatial and temporal co-occurrence. However, few studies have addressed their combined impact, known as multisensory pollution, with the specific aim to assess whether the interaction between noise and light pollution leads to predictable, additive effects, or less predictable, synergistic or antagonistic effects. We carried out a systematic review of research investigating multisensory pollution and found 28 studies that simultaneously assessed the impact of anthropogenic noise and ALAN on animal function (e.g., behavior, morphology or life-history), physiology (e.g., stress, oxidative, or immune status), or population demography (e.g., abundance or species richness). Only fifteen of these studies specifically tested for possible interactive effects when both sensory pollutants were combined. Four out of eight experimental studies revealed a significant interaction effect, in contrast to only three out seven observational studies. We discuss the benefits and limitations of experimental vs. observational studies addressing multisensory pollution and call for more specific testing of the diverse ways in which noise and light pollution can interact to affect wildlife.

Highlights

The natural world is under threat due to a multitude of anthropogenic disturbances, including habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, and urbanization (Vitousek et al, 1997)
Artificial light at night (ALAN) and anthropogenic noise are two environmental stressors associated with urbanization, transport and industry, and are well known to influence biological processes ranging from individual physiology, reproduction and survival, to large scale processes occurring across whole ecosystems (Halfwerk and Slabbekoorn, 2015; Swaddle et al, 2015; Dominoni D.M. et al, 2020; Svechkina et al, 2020; Jerem and Mathews, 2021)
Our analysis revealed that most multisensory pollution studies (21 out of 28) addressed effects of both noise and light pollution on birds (Table 1, Figure 2A, and Supplementary Data Sheet)

Summary

Introduction

The natural world is under threat due to a multitude of anthropogenic disturbances, including habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, and urbanization (Vitousek et al, 1997) Many of these human-induced environmental stressors covary in space and time making their combined impact difficult to predict (Crain et al, 2008; Piggott et al, 2015; Orr et al, 2020; Tekin et al, 2020). High levels of anthropogenic noise and ALAN often co-occur at the same location and at the same time of day, depending on the latitude and time of year (Halfwerk and Slabbekoorn, 2015; Buxton et al, 2020; Dominoni D.M. et al, 2020) Despite this frequent covariance, the majority of studies have addressed their biological. Most reports overor underestimate effect sizes when these sensory pollutants are combined (Dominoni D. et al, 2020)

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