We are pleased to share that our colleague Anna-Marie Poskočilová has been awarded a Return Grant from the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU), funded through the OP JAK programme – “Returns to CZU”. This programme supports researchers returning after career breaks and enables them to re-establish and further develop their independent research. Her project, Light Matters: Returning to Science to Unravel the Ecological Effects of Nighttime Illumination on Aquatic Insects, focuses on the impacts of artificial light at night (ALAN) on freshwater invertebrates. This three-year research project will address several key aspects, including experimental analysis of predator–prey interactions, comparisons of sensitivity in dragonfly populations from urban and natural sites in Czechia and Estonia, and the role of light as an ecological filter shaping community composition. The project also includes an international research stay in Estonia, the development of new methodological approaches, and further professional training, all contributing to the establishment of an independent research line at the interface of insect ecology, freshwater ecology, and light pollution research. While the effects of ALAN on terrestrial organisms are increasingly well documented, its impacts on freshwater ecosystems remain largely unexplored. This project therefore represents an important step toward filling this knowledge gap and improving our understanding of how nighttime illumination affects the behaviour, physiology, and community dynamics of aquatic insects.
