Hannah Broeckx

In Chapter 4, I analyzed the effects of ALAN on a visually oriented predator, the jumping spider Marpissa muscosa. I found that M. muscosa changed its activity under the influence of light. The results suggest that the intensity and spectral composition of light play a role in the behavior of this predator.

In Chapter 5, we investigated how ALAN influences the spatio-temporal overlap between Pipistrellus spp. (pipistrelle bats) and their prey. We examined whether dimming streetlights in urban areas reduces insect attraction and how this affects the foraging activity of bats. The results showed that pipistrelle bats foraged more in darkness.

In Chapter 6, we developed an open-source AI-based method to assess the temporal activity of insects under different light conditions, using the images from Chapter 5.