Anthropogenic noise weakens territorial response to intruder's songs

Abstract

Abstract. Noise pollution degrades natural acoustic conditions, potentially interfering with bird communication. However, exactly how noise impacts the ability of the signal receiver to detect and discriminate vocalizations from conspecifics remains understudied in field settings. We performed a natural experiment to determine the effect of noise pollution on the territory-defense behaviors of two emberizid sparrows exposed to carefully constructed playbacks of conspecific intruder songs. Although all birds reacted to the playbacks, response latency increased with noise levels. This suggests that noise interferes with signal reception and may indicate impaired signal discrimination. We place these results in the context of a receiver's "listening area" and the significant impact of noise pollution on this receiver-centric perceptual acoustic range. This work informs conservation efforts and provides a much needed fieldbased examination of the disruptive impact of noise pollution on behaviors directly related to reproduction and fitness.

Sound settlement: noise surpasses land cover in explaining breeding habitat selection of secondary cavity‐nesting birds

“…Listening area is defined as the area around an animal within which it is able to detect acoustic signals, and this area is estimated to shrink by as much as 50% with each increase in background noise of three decibels at the same frequencies of biologically relevant signals or cues (Barber et al 2010, Kleist et al 2016. Listening area is defined as the area around an animal within which it is able to detect acoustic signals, and this area is estimated to shrink by as much as 50% with each increase in background noise of three decibels at the same frequencies of biologically relevant signals or cues (Barber et al 2010, Kleist et al 2016.…”

“…Considering that the difference between the mean amplitudes of background noise on treatment and control sites is approximately 10 dB(F), the perceptual world of birds on treatment sites is drastically reduced, which could interfere with a variety of important tasks associated with territory defense, predator detection, and prey acquisition. This "public information" is broadcast by conspecifics and used to assess habitat quality, but if receivers are handicapped in habitats with broadband low-frequency sounds, these signals may be entirely missed or the information within them misunderstood (Lohr et al 2003, Kleist et al 2016). As another example, chronic noise may limit the perceptual abilities of birds to receive needed information when making key decisions about where to nest.…”

Road Encroachment Near Protected Areas Alters the Natural Soundscape Through Traffic Noise Pollution in Costa Rica

“…It is likely that this difference is related to a decrease in bird density close to the road where noise is highest, as it was found by a previous study in Carara in which bird density and bird species richness decreased with noise (Arévalo and Newhard, 2011). Noise may interfere with bird communication (Grade and Kathryn, 2016;Kleist et al, 2016), induce stress (Kight and Swaddle, 2011) and can alter mating and breeding processes (Reijnen et al, 1995;Schmidt, Morrison and Kunc, 2014). Thus, some species of forest birds may be forced to move away towards the inner forest to avoid the negative effects of road noise.…”

Light and noise pollution interact to disrupt interspecific interactions

“…, Brumm , Haven , Kleist et al. ) and ultimately alter their intraspecific interactions (Slabbekoorn and Ripmeester , Francis et al. , Ortega , Kleist et al.…”

“…, Ortega , Kleist et al. ). Artificial noise, light, and heat can select for signaling strategies that affect the behavior and physiology of organisms (Slabbekoorn and Peet , Patricelli and Blickley ), modulate habitat preferences (Parris et al.…”