Anthropogenic noise in <scp>US</scp> national parks – sources and spatial extent

Buxton, Rachel T.; McKenna, Megan F.; Mennitt, Daniel J.; Brown, Emma; Fristrup, Kurt M.; Crooks, Kevin R.; Angeloni, Lisa M.; Wittemyer, George

doi:10.1002/fee.2112

Cited by 29 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Unintended noise from aircraft traffic is one of the most pervasive anthropogenic sounds in US National Park units (Buxton et al . 2019). Despite the ubiquity of aircraft, little assessment of its ecological impacts has been attempted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2011) and Buxton et al . (2019). Briefly, the NSNSD has been monitoring the acoustic environment at sites across the park system since 2000 (National Park Service 2013).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Air traffic is one of the leading sources of noise pollution in protected areas, contributing to chronic anthropogenic noise (hereafter ‘noise’) levels in relatively remote landscapes (Buxton et al . 2017, 2019). Increased noise in protected areas not only affects visitor experience (Miller et al .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Insights on the effect of aircraft traffic on avian vocal activity

Vincelette

Buxton

Kleist

et al. 2020

Ibis

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Aircraft noise is pervasive across the USA, including in national parks, but its effects on wildlife remain unresolved. As with other noise sources, aircraft noise may affect species physiology and behaviour by being perceived as a threat, distracting individuals, or degrading the sensory environment. This study aimed to understand the effect of aircraft traffic and associated noise on the richness of bird vocalization activity in a remote national park in the USA. We used a continent‐wide acoustic dataset encompassing over 30:00 h of annotated recordings to identify two geographically similar sites with high rates of bird vocalizations and both high and low rates of aircraft noise. We selected sites in Denali National Park, both of which experience little human presence, and quantified the richness of bird vocalizations before, during and after aircraft events. We present evidence of a community‐level behavioural response to aircraft noise, with increased bird vocalization richness after aircraft events at a site with relatively lower aircraft noise. At the site with low rates of aircraft noise, we found bird vocalization richness did not significantly change during an aircraft event but did increase after an aircraft event. At the site with high rates of aircraft noise, bird vocalization richness did not significantly change during or after an aircraft event. This study provides new insights into wildlife responses to aircraft traffic and associated noise and highlights the importance of noise research in the management of relatively quiet and undisturbed landscapes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2011) and Buxton et al . (2019). Briefly, the NSNSD has been monitoring the acoustic environment at sites across the park system since 2000 (National Park Service 2013).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Insights on the effect of aircraft traffic on avian vocal activity

Vincelette

Buxton

Kleist

et al. 2020

Ibis

Self Cite

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“…Noise pollution from anthropogenic sources, including road traffic, airplanes, landscaping services, and construction, pose threats to the well-being of humans and wildlife, especially around urban areas, where noise pollution tends to be greatest [2]. Noise pollution is also surprisingly common in protected areas, national parks, and rural areas, where it similarly affects both humans and wildlife [3][4][5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen scientists and university students monitor noise pollution in cities and protected areas with smartphones

2020

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Noise pollution can cause increased stress, cognitive impairment and illness in humans and decreased fitness and altered behavior in wildlife. Maps of noise pollution are used to visualize the distribution of noise across a landscape. These maps are typically created by taking a relatively small number of sound measurements or simulated on the basis of theoretical models. However, smartphones with inexpensive sound measuring apps can be used to monitor noise and create dense maps of real-world noise measurements. Public concern with noise can make monitoring noise pollution with smartphones an engaging and educational citizen science activity. We demonstrate a method utilizing single-day citizen science noise mapping events and a university lab to collect noise data in urban environments and protected areas. Using this approach, we collected hundreds of noise measurements with participants that we used to create noise maps. We found this method was successful in engaging volunteers and students and producing usable noise data. The described methodology has potential applications for biological research, citizen science engagement, and teaching.

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“…Anthropogenic noise in national parks worldwide has been identified as a growing issue of concern [1][2][3]. In the US a recent noise survey across 251 sites in 66 parks indicated that such noise was audible in 37% of recordings [4]. In New Zealand the Department of Conservation (DoC) has noted increases in the numbers of domestic and international park visitors that has resulted in a corresponding demand for their diverse expectations to be catered for [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tranquillity mapping in New Zealand national parks – a pilot study

et al. 2020

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The tranquillity in national parks worldwide is currently under threat from intrusion of anthropogenic noise of a growing tourism industry and activity related to park management. This was addressed by creating informative tranquillity maps, where perceived tranquillity can be considered a key indicator of soundscape quality in natural areas. Tranquillity of an area can be assessed using TRAPT (Tranquillity Rating Prediction Tool), that has been developed and refined for assessing urban green spaces, national parks and wilderness areas in the United Kingdom. The subjective response to helicopter noise levels of a sample group of 35 people representing the general New Zealand population was obtained, based on visual and audio stimuli that were collected in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. These results were used to produce a revised TRAPT equation. It was discovered that levels under 32 dBA correspond to an excellent level of tranquillity. This threshold was used to produce a noise level exposure calculation for two national parks using noise prediction model AEDT (Aviation Environmental Development Tool). Contours representing tranquillity duration were then calculated and plotted, to serve as a planning tool for use by the Department of Conservation. A similar approach could be used for other national parks worldwide.

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Anthropogenic noise in US national parks – sources and spatial extent

Cited by 29 publications

References 22 publications

Insights on the effect of aircraft traffic on avian vocal activity

Insights on the effect of aircraft traffic on avian vocal activity

Citizen scientists and university students monitor noise pollution in cities and protected areas with smartphones

Tranquillity mapping in New Zealand national parks – a pilot study

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