Does light pollution affect the surrounding ecological community?
Absolutely. Artificial light at night has been shown to affect the mating, migration, and predation behaviors of many different species and, consequently, the ecological community as a whole. For example: Lighted towers and tall buildings can so confuse migrating and local birds that they collide with other birds or structures or circle the lights until they die of exhaustion. Bats and moths are affected, as well. Sea turtle hatchlings are naturally attracted to the ocean by the light of the moon, which is intended by nature to be the brightest light on any given night; but coastline lighting confuses them. It lures them away from the ocean and towards the dangers of roads and predators. Night lighting that increases sky glow around sports stadiums can stop the mating activity of nearby frogs. Artificial lighting reduces visibility of species that communicate through light (bioluminescent flashes), such as glowworms and fireflies. Use of intense lights for fishing at night on the ocean
