Light Pollution: An Ecological Assessment of Urban Habitats in Parbhani, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an increasingly important component of urban environmental change. The expansion of street lighting, commercial illumination, residential security lights and illuminated public spaces has substantially modified natural nighttime conditions. Nocturnal insects are particularly relevant to this issue because darkness regulates their movement, feeding, reproduction, predator avoidance and interactions with plants. The present study proposes an ecological assessment of nocturnal insect diversity along an artificial-light gradient in selected urban habitats of Parbhani, Maharashtra, India. Sampling is designed to include highly illuminated commercial areas, residential localities, institutional campuses, roadside vegetation, urban gardens and relatively dark peripheral green spaces. Nocturnal insects are recorded using standardized light trapping, visual observations and timed transects, while artificial illumination is measured using a digital lux meter. Species richness, abundance, Shannon–Wiener diversity, Simpson diversity and evenness are used to characterize insect communities, and relationships between illumination and insect diversity are examined statistically. Particular attention is given to Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, Orthoptera and other nocturnally active insect groups. The study provides a framework for understanding how increasing artificial illumination may influence urban insect assemblages and associated ecological functions such as pollination, herbivory, decomposition and food-web interactions. The proposed assessment can provide a baseline for biodiversity-sensitive urban planning in Parbhani and support practical recommendations concerning light intensity, light direction, lighting duration and protection of dark urban refuges.