Suddenly, they can’t find their way back

All this artificial light at night is also affecting wildlife and the ecosystem.

Animals and plants depend on Earth’s daily cycle of light and dark rhythm to govern life- sustaining behaviours such as reproduction, nouri s hment, sleep and protection from predators, according to the International Dark- Sky Association. Without the proper amount of darkness, this cycle is disrupted.

“Animals and insects use the body clock they developed over billions of years to navigate,” says Robert Dick, chair of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s Light- Pollution Abatement Committee. “Their internal body clock predicts the stars’ motions, which they use to navigate back to their nest.”

However, if it is a stationary light, they assume it’s still moving, so they get lost, and it takes them extra time to get home, which makes them more at risk of predators. Dick explains that species affected by light pollution are trying to move to the countryside, but this region is already a full ecosystem.

“There are survivors, and there are losers,” says Dick. “What’s unfortunate for them is that, unlike humans, they can’t do anything about light pollution.”

Of all the animals on the planet, perhaps none is under more threat from light pollution than sea turtles, according to the MontMégantic International Dark- Sky Reserve. Young turtles leaving their nest use the natural glow of the sea and the moon to guide themselves and seek shelter in the water.

“Light pollution i s at a point where artificial lights on seashores confuse turtles, who get lost on the shore and are then at risk of dying from dehydration or predators,” says Johanne Roby, professor of chemistry at CÉGEP de Sherbrooke and an organizing member of Artificial Light at Night, a series of worldwide conferences dedicated to examining artificial light at night.

What’s unfortunate for them is that, unlike humans, they can’t do anything about light pollution.