The artificial light of coral reefs may strongly influence the proliferation of bright orange clowns - famous for the film "Nightingale" - because an increasing amount of artificial light at night in coral reefs obscures the natural signals that stimulate fish eggs to hatch after dusk (the first night of the night) Albeit at relatively low levels.
Exposure to night light had a dramatic effect on hatching, and the eggs of clown fish incubated under artificial light at night did not hatch simply, Australian researchers found in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature Litters.
The researchers said that light pollution or industrial light at night - which can have harmful effects on many organisms and ecosystems - is increasing by about 2% per year worldwide.
"The predominant result is that pollution from industrial light can have a devastating effect on the success of coral reefs," said Emily Faubert, head of the research team at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. "The presence of light clearly interferes with the environmental signal that triggers clowning.
The results are also likely to apply to other coral reef fish, and many share similar breeding behaviors, including hatching time, she said.