Corals don’t do well in shipping lanes. They don’t do well when people step on them or when they are met with oil spills. Coral reefs the world over are threatened and now an international team is looking to deep dive into the research that could impact laws around them. As countries like Saudi Arabia ramp up tourism in the Red Sea with Neom and The Line, and Vision 2030, and as the Houthis threaten to blow up oil tankers, the world wants to know: how do stressors like light and noise impact the reefs?
Prof. Oren Levy, Director of the Laboratory for Molecular Marine Ecology at Bar-Ilan University, is a member of a newly-launched EU project to improve our comprehension of how biodiversity is being impacted by Light and Noise Pollution (LNP) in aquatic environments such as rivers, lakes, coastal and offshore waters.
Funded by the Horizon Europe program, AquaPLAN (Aquatic Pollution from Light and Anthropogenic Noise: Management of Impacts on Biodiversity) aims to quantify the combined impacts of LNP on aquatic biodiversity in European waters and facilitate the implementation of empirically sound strategies for managing these pollutants through novel interdisciplinary approaches.
Prof. Levy’s contribution to the project focuses on the unique environment of tropical coral reefs in the Red Sea, where he examines the impact of light pollution on vital ecological aspects. His research targets the synchronization of coral spawning, a critical event for reef regeneration, which can be disrupted by artificial lighting. Additionally, he studies how light pollution affects the behavior of tropical fish and the colonization patterns of invertebrates in light-polluted areas, providing insights into the broader ecological impact.
Alongside colleagues from the consortium, Levy also extends his research to include the effects of noise pollution on these marine ecosystems, exploring how both light and noise pollution jointly influence coral reefs, fish behavior, and invertebrate colonization.
Understanding how LNP affects aquatic biodiversity has dramatically improved in recent decades. Evidence suggests that these effects are prevalent globally, in all types of aquatic ecosystems, from rivers and lakes to the seafloor. Despite growing knowledge and access to a range of technologies, best practice methodologies and policy interventions, there are still many critical knowledge gaps that, if addressed, would allow us to better manage and reduce these impacts.
Project coordinator Prof. Elena Maggi from University of Pisa said, “Currently, existing regulations on the emission of Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) and anthropogenic noise are highly fragmented in inland, coastal and offshore waters. Moreover, we still need good datasets to understand how to monitor, protect and restore aquatic biodiversity effectively.”
AquaPLAN will run for four years. It is coordinated by the University of Pisa (UNIPI) and comprises a multi-actor, transdisciplinary team of 13 organizations from nine countries. The consortium recently gathered in Pisa, Italy for the project’s kickoff meeting.
