Light pollution is increasing worldwide, which is contributing to the reduction of insect populations. As insects are important elements of the food web; they pollinate plants and are food for other animals, we need to investigate better the loss of insects. Since many insect species are nocturnal, they may be affected in behavior and their internal clocks by light at night. Therefore I will be working on the effect of artificial light at night (ALAN) on plant-insect interactions and the mismatches that potentially arise in pollination, seed predation and herbivory.

This research involves experimental (lab)work and field work to gain insight into the changes ALAN can cause in an urban trophic cascade on both a physiological and an ecological level.

Read Ivanka’s personal introduction here.