Klaus Tschira Stiftung supports the GAME programme

The international research and student training programme GAME (Global Approach through Modular Experiments) of GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel has gained a new supporter: The Klaus Tschira Stiftung supports three projects on the topic of light pollution until 2023. In teams of two, students of biology and environmental sciences conduct identical experiments on the effects of artificial light at night on marine life over a period of several months.

“Negative effects of artificial light at night are already known for many terrestrial organisms, such as birds or insects”, explains GAME coordinator Dr, Mark Lenz, marine ecologist at GEOMAR. “For the marine system, only very few studies on possible impacts have been available so far – despite the fact that a quarter of the world's coasts are already affected by light from nearby infrastructure.”

In 2021, participants of the current GAME project investigated the behaviour of marine grazers such as herbivorous snails, sea urchins or crabs under the influence of artificial light at night in Finland, Cape Verde, Croatia, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal and Spain. The students will present their first results to northern German universities and GAME sponsors in December. “Many diurnal animals stay active longer and eat more at night under the influence of artificial light. Nocturnal animals tend to avoid the light”, Dr Lenz summarises the observations. “At some sites, we found an increase or a decrease in the animals’ activity of 30 to 40 per cent. Such shifts could have implications for entire ecosystems.”

In the coming year, the focus will be on filter-feeding animals such as mussels and barnacles. By taking up food particles from the water and processing them, they mediate the flow of energy between the water column and the seabed. They are also an important source of food themselves. Mussel beds also contribute to coastal stability and provide a habitat for many other species. For 2023, open-water experiments on the settlement behaviour of larvae are envisaged. At this stage of development, mussels, barnacles, snails and other animals settle on solid surfaces in the sea. This process could also be influenced by artificial light.

Artificial light along the coasts will become more common in the future. However, lighting could be adapted to have as few negative effects as possible, says Dr Lenz. “Older light sources may have been energetically unbeneficial, but they were rather harmless to the animals because they had a spectrum that was not very similar to sunlight. The bright LED lights that resemble sunlight used in many places today may have quite different effects. Since we humans are bad at giving up lighting, it might help to at least reduce the duration or select spectra that are dissimilar to sunlight.”

In addition to the Klaus Tschira Stiftung, GAME is also funded by: Fairplay Management, Hydro-Bios, Hydrotechnik Lübeck, Lighthouse Foundation, LimnoMar, Mareverlag, Müllverbrennung Kiel, OFFCON and SubCtech.