Critter Compass Vision Blown By Street Lights
By Michael Frank, Adventure Journal on November 11th, 2011
If you’ve ever wondered how various creatures of the night navigate in the dark, one answer is that they use a compass-like pattern of light created by the moon. This light is invisible to us — and unfortunately is outshone by the nighttime glow of cities. That glow registers as distortion to insects, including species of beetles, moths, crickets, and spiders, possibly leading to disruption of food webs and affecting entire ecosystems. The fix for towns: Direct light downward, since that’s the only way it’s useful to humans anyway.
