Spectral composition of light-emitting diodes impacts aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate communities with potential implications for cross-ecosystem subsidies

Abstract

Resource exchanges in the form of invertebrate fluxes are a key component of aquatic-terrestrial habitat coupling, but this interface is susceptible to human activities, including the imposition of artificial light at night. To better understand the effects of spectral composition of light-emitting diodes (LEDs)—a technology that is rapidly supplanting other lighting types—on emergent aquatic insects and terrestrial insects, we experimentally added LED fixtures that emit different light spectra to the littoral zone and adjacent riparian habitat of a pond. We installed four replicate LED treatments of different wavelengths (410, 530 and 630 nm), neutral white (4000 k) and a dark control, and sampled invertebrates in both terrestrial and over-water littoral traps. Invertebrate communities differed among light treatments and between habitats, as did total insect biomass and mean individual insect size. Proportional allochthonous biomass was greater in the riparian habitat and among some light treatments, demonstrating an asymmetrical effect of differently coloured LEDs on aquatic-terrestrial resource exchanges. Overall, our findings demonstrate that variation in wavelength from LEDs may impact the flux of resources between systems, as well as the communities of insects that are attracted to particular spectra of LED lighting, with probable implications for consumers. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Light pollution in complex ecological systems’.