Light is a major cue for nearly all life on Earth. However, most of our knowledge concerning the importance of light is based on organisms' response to light during daytime, including the dusk and dawn phase. When it is dark, light is most often considered as pollution, with increasing appreciation of its negative ecological effects. Using an Autonomous Surface Vehicle fitted with a hyperspectral irradiance sensor and an acoustic profiler, we detected and quantified the behavior of zooplankton in an unpolluted light environment in the high Arctic polar night and compared the results with that from a light-polluted environment close to our research vessels. First, in environments free of light pollution, the zooplankton community is intimately connected to the ambient light regime and performs synchronized diel vertical migrations in the upper 30 m despite the sun never rising above the horizon. Second, the vast majority of the pelagic community exhibits a strong light-escape response in the presence of artificial light, observed down to 100 m. We conclude that artificial light from traditional sampling platforms affects the zooplankton community to a degree where it is impossible to examine its abundance and natural rhythms within the upper 100 m. This study underscores the need to adjust sampling platforms, particularly in dim-light conditions, to capture relevant physical and biological data for ecological studies. It also highlights a previously unchartered susceptibility to light pollution in a region destined to see significant changes in light climate due to a reduced ice cover and an increased anthropogenic activity.

中文翻译：

---

自主水面载具的使用揭示了浮游动物的小迪尔垂直迁移和在低太阳辐照度下对光污染的敏感性。

光是地球上几乎所有生命的主要线索。但是，我们有关光的重要性的大多数知识都是基于生物体在白天（包括黄昏和黎明阶段）对光的反应。在黑暗中，光通常被认为是污染，对光的负面生态影响越来越高。我们使用配备有高光谱辐照度传感器和声学剖面仪的自主水面飞行器，在北极高极性夜未污染的光环境中检测并量化了浮游动物的行为，并将结果与​​接近我们的光污染环境的结果进行了比较研究船。首先，在没有光污染的环境中，尽管太阳从未升起，浮游动物群落与周围的光照环境紧密相连，并在高30 m处进行了同步的diel垂直迁移。第二，在低至100 m的人工光存在下，绝大多数中上层生物群落表现出强烈的光逃逸响应。我们得出的结论是，来自传统采样平台的人造光会在一定程度上影响浮游动物群落，从而无法检查其在100 m以内的丰度和自然节律。这项研究强调需要调整采样平台，尤其是在昏暗条件下，以捕获相关的物理和生物学数据以进行生态研究。