Arctic sea creatures are affected by man-made light

, 200 meters arctic seabed, can be disturbed by man-made light from ships, according to a paper published recently in the British journal Communication Biology. The findings mean that artificial light affects population surveys during polar nights, which in turn has an impact on sustainable management.
Fish and plankton, which originally relied on natural light to adjust their behaviour and migration patterns, made the unusual choice between happy and unhappy marine life, because artificial light disturbs the "biological clock" inside marine life. Artificial light interferes with the direction in which these animals distinguish and destroy ecosystems, which in turn affects the accuracy of researchers' observations of marine life. However, the effects of artificial light on marine life have not been fully studied, especially during the six-month polar night in the Arctic. During polar nights, fish and plankth can only rely on weak natural changes in nighttime light.
, a team from the University of Tromso in Norway and the University of the Arctic Circle in Norway measured how fish and plankton respond to artificial light from ships during polar nights at three locations in the Arctic. They found that when the ship's lights were on, the animals changed their behavior almost immediately (within five seconds). The swimming behavior and vertical position of animals 200 meters between the sea floor and the sea floor have changed.
researchers also found that the effects of artificial light on animal behavior varied between three locations, most notably the north, where nights were darkest.
team concluded that these findings should be taken into account in future research and population assessments during polar nights.