Effects of artifical light at night (ALAN) on three benthic grazer species (Arbacia lixula, Paracentrotus lividus, Cerithium spp.) from the Adriatic Sea (June - August 2021)

In laboratory experiments on field-collected animals (June-August 2021), we investigated the influence of three realistic artificial light at night (ALAN) regimes on food consumption rates and feeding rhythmicity in the sea urchins Arbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus and the snail Cerithium spp. from the Adriatic Sea (Pula, Croatia). Food consumption was assessed in assays with algal pellets, while feeding rhythms were documented with 24 h time-lapse photography. Both was done in animals that had been acclimated to ALAN for two weeks and in non-acclimated animals. We observed short-term and potential long-term alterations in the feeding rhythms of Cerithium spp. and Paracentrotus lividus, respectively, but found no lasting effects on consumption rates. Effects were less pronounced when ALAN was applied only part-night. Data contains (1) information about place and time of the animal collection, (2) details about the laboratory experiments, (3) measured food consumption rates under ALAN, (4) day-/night feeding behaviour under ALAN derived from time-lapse photography, and (5) consumption rates under red light. Data for all three species is provided.