Are you interested in conservation biology, field ecology or sensory biology and in gaining research experience on a topic with a high societal impact? Would you like to do a master’s project with field work in August-October? Come and join our research team at the Swedish University of Agricultural sciences in Umeå (Sweden) to study practical solutions to mitigate the negative consequences of light pollution on biodiversity.
Light pollution due to the expansion of artificial lighting is a growing threat to biodiversity. Light pollution can increase the exposure to predators or stress, alter biological timing, impair movements and migrations, and increase mortality. To counteract this, alternative street lighting strategies are increasingly used (“red” light, reduced lighting periods, motion-triggered lamps, etc), but their efficiency to mitigate the negative effects of light pollution on biodiversity is poorly understood.
Your project will consist in designing, carrying out and analyzing an ecological experiment comparing the effects of traditional and “wildlife-friendly” street lights at an urban park in Umeå. This project will allow to assess whether sensitive taxa such as bats, mayflies and moths benefit from the alternative lighting system.
With this project, you will acquire or reinforce some of the following skills:
• working independently and in a small team to design a research project
• carrying out an ecological experiment in the field that combines different monitoring techniques (acoustic detection, traps, hand searches…)
• identifying taxa in the field and in the lab (e.g. moths, mayflies, spiders, bats)
• analyzing ecological datasets
• communicating scientific findings
• evolving in a stimulating research environment at SLU
Keen to join? Please send a brief description of your background and motivation:
Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental studies, SLU Umeå, Sweden
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