The impact of light pollution on flash rate and duration of Pter (2018) The impact of light pollution on flash rate and duration of Pteroptyx bearni (Coleoptera : Lampyridae). Masters thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
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Abstract
Fireflies from family Lampyridae (Order: Coleoptera) uses light for mating, as a defence mechanism or to prey others. They emit light via their light organ and only started to flash during the night. However, existence of light pollution may be overwhelming for the communicating firefly and may potentially mute them, making them unable to mate, defend themselves and eat. Hence, light pollution has been rumoured to cause firefly population to dwindle but empirical proof is still lacking especially the direct impact of artificial light to their flash pattern. Therefore this study is trying to investigate the effect of multiple light intensities on the flash rates and flash duration of Pteroptyx bearni firefly, as well as to provide a documentation of Pteroptyx bearni flashing pattern and to find an alternative and cost-effective ways in monitoring their flashing pattern. Firefly samples were taken from Kawang River, Kinarut by using sweep net. Subjects (N = 76) were brought to the laboratory of Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation and caged in individual Petri dishes, left in a dark room for one hour then recorded using a camcorder (SONY DCR-SX40) before, during (0.05 lux, n = 19; 0.1 lux, n = 20; 0.3 lux, n = 20; 0.5 lux, n = 17) and after light pollution for five minutes respectively. Flash rates and flash duration were extracted from the video data by converting them into image sequences using FFMPEG and transformed into quantitative value using ImageJ. Friedman test with Wilcoxon signed rank test shows that flash rates is lowest during exposure to 0.1 lux to 0.5 lux of light intensity compared to before and after exposure to light. Flash duration, using similar tests, shows that duration shortens when exposed to 0.1 lux to 0.5 lux of light pollution when compared to before exposure. Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) test on both rates and duration shows temperature and humidity is affecting their flash rates and duration. Pteroptyx bearni flashing pattern is irregular consisting of single and multiple-pulse flash.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Keyword: | Fireflies, Light pollution, Flash rate, Flash duration, Flashing pattern, Artificial light, Firefly behavior, |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QL Zoology > QL1-991 Zoology > QL360-599.82 Invertebrates > QL461-599.82 Insects |
| Department: | INSTITUTE > Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation |
| Depositing User: | DG MASNIAH AHMAD - |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Mar 2025 15:19 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Mar 2025 15:19 |
| URI: | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/43339 |
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