What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution
Summary: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a ubiquitous pollutant worldwide. Exposure can induce immediate behavioral and physiological changes in animals, sometimes leading to severe health consequences. Nevertheless, many organisms persist in light-polluted environments and may have mechanisms o...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-02-01
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| Series: | iScience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224000853 |
| _version_ | 1797342181924536320 |
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| author | Valentina J. Alaasam Cassandra Hui Johnathan Lomas Stephen M. Ferguson Yong Zhang Won Cheol Yim Jenny Q. Ouyang |
| author_facet | Valentina J. Alaasam Cassandra Hui Johnathan Lomas Stephen M. Ferguson Yong Zhang Won Cheol Yim Jenny Q. Ouyang |
| author_sort | Valentina J. Alaasam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a ubiquitous pollutant worldwide. Exposure can induce immediate behavioral and physiological changes in animals, sometimes leading to severe health consequences. Nevertheless, many organisms persist in light-polluted environments and may have mechanisms of habituating, reducing responses to repeated exposure over time, but this has yet to be tested experimentally. Here, we tested whether zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) can habituate to dim (0.3 lux) ALAN, measuring behavior, physiology (oxidative stress and telomere attrition), and gene expression in a repeated measures design, over 6 months. We present evidence of tolerance to chronic exposure, persistent behavioral responses lasting 8 weeks post-exposure, and attenuation of responses to re-exposure. Oxidative stress decreased under chronic ALAN. Changes in the blood transcriptome revealed unique responses to past exposure and re-exposure. Results demonstrate organismal resilience to chronic stressors and shed light on the capacity of birds to persist in an increasingly light-polluted world. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:29:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-84331d0f102e44278f78933416fbf26b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:29:34Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj.art-84331d0f102e44278f78933416fbf26b2024-01-27T06:55:48ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422024-02-01272108864What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollutionValentina J. Alaasam0Cassandra Hui1Johnathan Lomas2Stephen M. Ferguson3Yong Zhang4Won Cheol Yim5Jenny Q. Ouyang6Department of Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno 89503, NV, USA; Corresponding authorDepartment of Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno 89503, NV, USADepartment of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno 89503, NV, USADivision of Natural Sciences, St. Norbert College, De Pere 54115, WI, USAJiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and Cambridge-Suda Genomic Resource Center, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, ChinaDepartment of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno 89503, NV, USADepartment of Biology, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno 89503, NV, USASummary: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a ubiquitous pollutant worldwide. Exposure can induce immediate behavioral and physiological changes in animals, sometimes leading to severe health consequences. Nevertheless, many organisms persist in light-polluted environments and may have mechanisms of habituating, reducing responses to repeated exposure over time, but this has yet to be tested experimentally. Here, we tested whether zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) can habituate to dim (0.3 lux) ALAN, measuring behavior, physiology (oxidative stress and telomere attrition), and gene expression in a repeated measures design, over 6 months. We present evidence of tolerance to chronic exposure, persistent behavioral responses lasting 8 weeks post-exposure, and attenuation of responses to re-exposure. Oxidative stress decreased under chronic ALAN. Changes in the blood transcriptome revealed unique responses to past exposure and re-exposure. Results demonstrate organismal resilience to chronic stressors and shed light on the capacity of birds to persist in an increasingly light-polluted world.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224000853GeneticsEvolutionary biologyAnimal Physiology |
| spellingShingle | Valentina J. Alaasam Cassandra Hui Johnathan Lomas Stephen M. Ferguson Yong Zhang Won Cheol Yim Jenny Q. Ouyang What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution iScience Genetics Evolutionary biology Animal Physiology |
| title | What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution |
| title_full | What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution |
| title_fullStr | What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution |
| title_full_unstemmed | What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution |
| title_short | What happens when the lights are left on? Transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution |
| title_sort | what happens when the lights are left on transcriptomic and phenotypic habituation to light pollution |
| topic | Genetics Evolutionary biology Animal Physiology |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224000853 |
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