Risk assessment of persistent exposure to artificial light at night revealed altered behavior and metabolic patterns of marine nocturnal shellfish

The evolvement of urbanization has caused artificial light at night (ALAN) to be one of the major pollution sources in major cities, resulting in numerous environmental concerns. In view of the increasing intensity and range of ALAN, this study aims to evaluate the influence of ALAN on the physiology and behavior of the Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai, a typical nocturnal marine shellfish. Street lighting at night (SL6, lights on from 18:00 until 00:00; SL12, lights on from 18:00 until 06:00 the next morning) and car lighting (CL, lights were turned once every hour for 30 s and then turned off) were simulated indoors, with the natural light cycle group (lights on from 06:00 to 18:00) treated as the control group (CTR). The significantly higher cumulative distance covered along with the duration of abalone movement was observed in Group SL12 upon comparison with other groups (P