The effect is best understood for insects such as dragonflies and mayflies that clearly use polarized light to find water. "If they have a choice between a pond and a road, they'll lay their eggs on the road. They like it better," said Robertson. "We're creating giant bug zappers on our roads." Water birds, fish, and many other animals also make use of polarized light, but it's not yet clear how their behavior is affected by artificial polarizing surfaces. "The next stage of research is to quantify if this is going to be a big conservation problem for aquatic insects." Robertson said. The effects of disrupting these insect populations could move up the food chain, affecting fish or birds that feed on them. "The fact that [artificial polarization] attracts insects and they end up dying is not good," agreed Justin Marshall of the University of Queensland in Australia. "What I'm not sure about is the quantity"-- whether the extent of insect loss is significant. "Essentially I agree with what they're saying," he added. "We should ... think about ways to prevent this sort of attraction, in the same way that people try to prevent birds from flying into windows." "There are several ways that you can change the way we build things," Robertson noted. Related Links: |
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