Nature and extent of ecological impacts of vehicle headlights

车辆前灯生态影响的性质和程度

• 批准号: NE/Z000114/1
• 负责人: Kevin Gaston
• 金额: $ 99.9万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FZ000114%2F1
• 关键词: Nature; extent; ecological; impacts; vehicle

Artificial nighttime lighting is a profound anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment. This growing area of international research has focused almost exclusively on emissions from static light sources, such as those from urban streetlights. Meanwhile, virtually nothing is known about the ecological impacts of mobile sources of lighting, most significantly those arising from vehicle headlights. This is despite convincing reasons suggesting the ecological pressure they cause is very different, far more pervasive, and significant. Specifically, compared to streetlights, headlight emissions are: (i) emitted along virtually all of the 36 million km of roads worldwide, significantly expanding their area of influence; (ii) emitted as horizontally projected beams that travel further at higher intensities; and (iii) experienced by organisms as irregularly timed pulses that may cause major perturbations in visual systems and behaviour. We will push the frontiers by determining the nature and extent of impacts on insect vision systems - and consequently their orientation and flight behaviour - caused by light emissions from vehicle headlights. First, we will use modelling and field measurements to characterise the spread of headlight emissions. Second, laboratory experiments will determine associated impacts on animal visual adaptation, orientation and flight behaviour. Finally, these findings will be used to establish current and future spatio-temporal variation in ecological impacts of vehicle headlights. This research has important implications for policy and regulation, because vehicle headlights are increasing in intensity and spectra that may be more ecologically harmful, and there is projected doubling of global traffic levels and 60% growth in global road length by 2050.

夜间人工照明对自然环境造成了巨大的人为压力。这一不断发展的国际研究领域几乎完全集中于静态光源的排放，例如城市路灯的排放。与此同时，人们对移动照明光源的生态影响几乎一无所知，其中最重要的是汽车前灯产生的影响。尽管有令人信服的理由表明它们造成的生态压力是非常不同的、更加普遍和显着的。具体而言，与路灯相比，车头灯排放：(i) 几乎沿全球所有 3600 万公里道路排放，显着扩大了其影响范围； (ii) 以水平投射光束的形式发射，以更高的强度传播得更远； (iii) 生物体所经历的不规则定时脉冲可能会导致视觉系统和行为的重大扰动。我们将通过确定车辆前灯的光发射对昆虫视觉系统影响的性质和程度，从而推动昆虫的方向和飞行行为，从而推动前沿技术的发展。首先，我们将使用建模和现场测量来表征前灯发射的扩散。其次，实验室实验将确定对动物视觉适应、方向和飞行行为的相关影响。最后，这些发现将用于确定车辆前灯生态影响当前和未来的时空变化。这项研究对政策和监管具有重要意义，因为汽车前灯的强度和光谱不断增加，这可能对生态造成更大的危害，而且预计到 2050 年，全球交通水平将翻一番，全球道路长度将增长 60%。