Scientific Sense ® Prof. Kevin Gaston of Univ. of Exeter on night time ecology.
Dec 13, 2025
Professor Kevin Gaston, Emeritus Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Exeter, delves into the often-overlooked world of nighttime ecology. He highlights the ecological impact of artificial light, discussing how it disrupts wildlife navigation and human sleep patterns. Kevin argues that managing artificial light is a feasible environmental challenge and emphasizes designing urban spaces to minimize light intrusion. He also reflects on the evolutionary implications of nocturnal changes and the critical role of darkness in conserving biodiversity.
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Nighttime Biodiversity Is Substantial
- A large portion of biodiversity is active at night and uses darkness as a critical ecological resource.
- Artificial light is altering those activity patterns and exerting pervasive ecological effects beyond just nocturnal species.
Vehicle Lights Are A Unique Threat
- Vehicle headlights create intense, horizontal, and pulsed lighting that spreads far beyond urban areas.
- Those pulses of bright light followed by darkness disrupt vision and behaviour in many species.
Use Light Only When Needed
- Limit lighting to where, when, and how it is actually needed to sharply reduce environmental impacts.
- Implement those constraints quickly to achieve rapid reductions in lighting footprint compared with other slow environmental fixes.