7 months ago

Denmark Municipality Installs Red Streetlights to Protect Bats

Denmark Municipality Installs Red Streetlights to Protect Bats
Why is a municipality in Denmark changing the colour of its streetlights to save bats? · indianexpress.com

A small area near Copenhagen, Denmark, is changing its streetlights from white to red to help bats.

Some bats don't like bright white lights because they can change how the bats behave and make them more likely to be eaten by predators.

Scientists have found that red lights don't bother bats as much.

This is important because bats help the environment by spreading seeds, pollinating plants, and eating harmful insects.

Other places, like a county in the UK, have also used red lights to protect bats.

Changing the lights helps keep the bats healthy and safe.

Key facts

Location
Gladsaxe Municipality, near Copenhagen, Denmark
Previous Lighting
White streetlights
Current Lighting
Red streetlights
Reason for Change
To protect bat species from behavioral changes caused by white lights
Previous Example
Worcestershire County Council in the UK installed red lights in 2019
Bat Species Affected
Lesser horseshoe bat, long-eared bat, mouse-eared bat
Studies Cited
2009 study in Current Biology, 2017 study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Bat Benefits
Seed dispersal, pollination, pest control

Quotes

PO Nameer

Head of the Department of Wildlife Science at College of Forestry, Thrissur

“Fruit-eating bats help in seed dispersal and pollination. Trees and plants that are bad pollinators themselves depend on them.”
indianexpress.com

Kamiel Spoelstra

Co-author of the 2017 bat activity study

“The lack of effect of red light on both the rarer, light-shy species and the more common non-light-shy bats… [This] opens up possibilities for limiting the disruption caused by external, artificial lighting in natural areas, in situations where having light is considered desirable.”
indianexpress.com

Sources

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