Photopollution impacts on the nocturnal behaviour of the Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps)

Abstract

Night light pollution is an important environmental problem impacting on many animals including a variety of insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. While some impacts of night light pollution are well-known such as misorientation of sea turtle hatchlings and deaths of migratory birds, other less obvious impacts on reproduction, communication, competition, and predation have recently been reported. As some natural areas in New Guinea and Australia face agricultural and industrial development, conflicts between wildlife and photopollution will add to existing problems of habitat fragmentation and degradation. I report on the photopollution impacts on the nocturnal behavior of the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps). Captive sugar gliders were monitored using a "super nightshot" camcorder for baseline nocturnal behaviour following a 12 hour dayligh/12 hour dark regime. Treatment consisted of 12 hour dayligh/12 hour simulated ambient low and high luminosity street light photopollution (average 7.0 and 12.0 lux). Over 575 sugar glider-hours were analyzed. The results show marked behavioural impacts under high luminosity treatment, even 7.0 lux reduced foraging time. This is the first report of photopollution impacts on sugar glider foraging and activity levels. Further research, particularly with wild populations, is needed to elucidate the extent of photopollution impacts on sugar gliders and their endangered and vulnerable relatives.