Elsevier

Limnologica

Volume 69, March 2018, Pages 55-58
Limnologica

A pigment composition analysis reveals community changes in pre-established stream periphyton under low-level artificial light at night

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2017.10.004Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • We exposed 3-week-old periphyton to artificial light at night in a flume experiment.

  • Nocturnal LED illumination altered the pigment composition in spring.

  • Red lineage algae decreased, cyanobacteria increased under illumination in spring.

  • These impacts may reduce algal food quality for primary consumers in streams.

Abstract

Freshwaters are increasingly exposed to artificial light at night (ALAN), yet the consequences for aquatic primary producers remain largely unknown. We used stream-side flumes to expose three-week-old periphyton to LED light. Pigment composition was used to infer community changes in LED-lit and control periphyton before and after three weeks of treatment. The proportion of diatoms/chrysophytes decreased (14%) and cyanobacteria increased (17%) in lit periphyton in spring. This may reduce periphyton nutritional quality in artificially-lit waters.

Keywords

ALAN
Algae
Biofilm
HPLC
LED
Light pollution

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