Aquatic Pollution from Light and Anthropogenic Noise: management of impacts on biodiversity

Recent decades have seen dramatic increases in our understanding of Light and Noise Pollution (LNP) impacts on aquatic biodiversity. These impacts are globally widespread and occurring in all aquatic ecosystems from lakes and rivers to the seafloor. A variety of technologies and policy interventions are also now available to mitigate LNP impacts in aquatic ecosystems. Yet, numerous knowledge gaps exist that if addressed would substantially improve our understanding of the prevalence and impacts of LNP, and our ability to manage them. There remain critical gaps in our understanding of the combined occurrence and impacts of LNP across the breadth of aquatic ecosystems, particularly at large spatial scales and over long-time frames. While numerous abatement options exist, pathways to achieving their effective implementation remain unclear. AquaPLAN is an interdisciplinary pan-European consortium that are world leaders in the fields of aquatic light and/or noise pollution. AquaPLAN aims to quantify the combined impacts of LNP on aquatic biodiversity across European seas, lakes and rivers, and facilitate the implementation of empirically sound strategies for managing these pollutants through novel interdisciplinary approaches. AquaPLAN will: i) provide a comprehensive review of the state of the art on the impacts of LNP on aquatic biodiversity; ii) assess perceptions of LNP impacts and the need for their management across key stakeholder groups; iii) quantify the combined impacts of LNP on the conservation status of biodiversity in aquatic habitats; iv) identify the mechanisms leading to individual and combined impacts of LNP on aquatic biodiversity; v) explore innovative interdisciplinary solutions to prevent and mitigate LNP impacts on aquatic biodiversity; vi) build an international, interdisciplinary network to assess, prevent and mitigate the combined impacts of LNP on aquatic biodiversity.