SYDNEY, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Australian scientists are investigating how artificial light at night affects green turtle hatchlings, a threatened species, as they emerge from their nests on the beach and make their way to the ocean.
The research aims to understand how different types and intensities of artificial light influence the hatchlings' natural instinct to head toward the sea, according to a release on Wednesday from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, which conducted the research in collaboration with Pendoley Environmental and the Western Australian government.
Turtle hatchlings use natural cues like dark dunes and starlit ocean reflections to find the sea, but artificial coastal lighting can disorient them, increasing their risk of predation, exhaustion, and dehydration, the release said.
Researchers collected over 200 green turtle hatchlings from Western Australia's Jurabi Coastal Park for lab tests. Using a Y-maze, they exposed hatchlings to two LED types and a blended spectrum mimicking coastal glow, aiming to identify light intensities that minimize disorientation, it said.
Early results show hatchlings are attracted to bright lights, but less so as brightness decreases; researchers are now working to identify safe lighting levels that protect turtles while accommodating coastal development, researchers said.
"Natural mortality of hatchlings is already high and there is some evidence to suggest that only 1 in 1,000 turtle hatchlings make it to adulthood," said turtle expert Kellie Pendoley from Pendoley Environmental, a collaborator on the project.
Increased mortality from artificial lighting could further endanger turtle populations worldwide, all of which are currently threatened, Pendoley said, adding the findings aim to guide industry and policymakers in reducing artificial light risks to vulnerable turtles. Enditem
京公网安备 11010802027341号