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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Red light, green light: both signal ‘go’ to deadly algae

Artificial lighting thought to be more wildlife-friendly than white light could encourage algal blooms.
Green and red lights reflecting on the sea

Green and red lighting might be good for migratory birds and sea turtles, but could have undesirable effects if marine algae are present. Credit: Getty

Green or red lights in seaside areas have been proposed as alternatives to white light to protect wildlife. But new experiments show that exposure to red or green light at night boosts the growth of some ocean algae — including species known to rob waters of oxygen.

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Nature 595, 11 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01722-4

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