Lights out for reef romance

ELECTRIC lights are interfering with corals’ reproductive cycles, experts say.

Ma r i n e o r g a n i s m s , particularly coral reefs, rely on natural cycles of sun and moonlight to regulate their biological processes.

But their rhythms are being thrown out by street lamps, billboards, sports facilities, hotels and office buildings in coastal areas.

Areas in the Caribbean Sea, and Pacific and Indian Oceans a re worst hi t , according to scientists at Israel’s Bar- Ilan University.