Impacts of light pollution on protected areas. Self funded PhD based at the Environment & Sustainability Institute.

Artificial light at night is profoundly altering natural light cycles, particularly as experienced by many organisms, over vast areas of the globe. Although this was initially thought predominantly to be an urban issue, it is now clear that light pollution - from streetlights and other sources - can extend hundreds of kilometres from towns and cities. This means that it is potentially eroding the nighttime across many of the world’s protected areas (national parks, reserves etc), including some of the largest and most important. This is of major concern, as these areas are key to buffering many threatened and rare species from human pressures.

This project will determine how severe is the loss of the nighttime in protected areas, how rapidly their natural light cycles are being eroded, and the likely consequences for species of conservation concern. It will exploit recent developments in nighttime satellite imagery of the Earth, including working with the images that are taken by astronauts on the International Space Station. Using cutting-edge techniques, these data will be used to map the levels and trends in light pollution across protected areas. In particular, attention will be paid to the intensity and the colour spectrum of this artificial lighting. This information will then be used to determine where the impacts on and risks to selected species of conservation concern (e.g. large mammals) are greatest.

The research will particularly suit a candidate with interests both in conservation biology and strategies to protect species of major concern, and in remote sensing. It will provide experience in new methods of handling and manipulating spatial imagery, and in using this to tackle a real-world conservation problem of global significance.

For more information about the project and informal enquiries, please contact the primary supervisor, Professor Kevin Gaston: [Email Address Removed]