The environmental problems of light pollution: a review
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Abstract
Light pollution, catalogued as a type of environmental degradation, has been little or no studied in Ecuador, but at international scale it has been amply discussed, evidencing its effects on astronomy, energy, economy and human beings, but also and mainly on nature, finding artificial light at night (ALAN) in all its presentations as the main responsible. This article begins with a brief review of the theory related to light pollution. It then presents the results of scientific research carried out in the last decade (2012 - 2022) on the effects of this problem on the existing flora and fauna at the international scale. A compilation of the research carried out at the national scale is also presented. As a result, the serious problems faced by the existing flora and fauna due to the direct or indirect interference of ALAN in the natural processes of development, motion, reproduction, predation and feeding in different species of fauna and flora are known, finding, within the first group, insects and birds as the most affected and studied. At the national scale, only 4 studies have tried to approach this problem, focusing on insects and mammals within the fauna, but studies on the flora have been nonexistent. There is a great niche of study for the academy, public and private sectors of the country, whose results would allow proposing the creation of specific politics and norms for this type of environmental degradation. The departments mentioned above are invited to promote interdisciplinary studies to learn about the effects that ALAN is having on flora and fauna.
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