Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) negatively affects the settlement success of two prominent intertidal barnacles in the southeast Pacific

Abstract

Many coastal processes are regulated by day/night cycles and are expected to be altered by Artificial Light at Night (ALAN). The goal of this study was to assess the influence of ALAN on the settlement rates of intertidal barnacles. A newly designed settlement plate equipped with a small central LED light source was used to quantify settlement rates in presence/absence of ALAN conditions. “ALAN plates” as well as regular settlement plates were deployed in the mid rocky intertidal zone. Both ALAN and control plates collected early and late settlers of the barnacles Notochthamalus scabrosus and Jehlius cirratus. Early settlers (pre-metamorphosis cyprids) were not affected by ALAN. By contrast, the density of late settlers (post-metamorphosis spats) was significantly lower in ALAN than in control plates for both species, suggesting detrimental ALAN impacts on the settlement process. The new ALAN plates represent an attractive and alternative methodology to study ALAN effects.