Data from: Artificial light at night causes reproductive failure in clownfish

The Earth is getting brighter at night, as artificial light at night
(ALAN) continues to increase and extend its reach. Despite recent
recognition of the damaging impacts of ALAN on terrestrial ecosystems,
research on the impacts of ALAN on marine systems is comparatively
lacking. To further our understanding of the impacts of ALAN on marine
organisms, this study examines the impact of ALAN on the reproductive
fitness of the common clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris. We assessed how
exposure to low levels of ALAN affects 1) frequency of spawning, 2) egg
fertilisation success, and 3) hatching success of A. ocellaris under
control (12:12 day-night) and treatment (12:12 day-ALAN) light regimes.
While we found exposure to ALAN had no impact on the frequency of spawning
or fertilisation success, ALAN had dramatic effects on hatching.
Amphiprion ocellaris eggs incubated in the presence of ALAN simply did not
hatch, resulting in zero survivorship of offspring. These findings suggest
ALAN can significantly reduce reproductive fitness in a benthic-spawning
reef fish. Further research in this field is necessary to fully understand
the extent of this impact on population and community dynamics in the
wild.