Protected Area Zoning as a Strategy to Preserve Natural Soundscapes, Reduce Anthropogenic Noise Intrusion, and Conserve Biodiversity

Abstract

Protected area zoning is a management strategy used to define and delimit land units for specific purposes, such as critical areas for conservation and areas for recreation activities. Nevertheless, human activities in and around protected areas produce anthropogenic noise that is difficult to mitigate and control. To assess the efficacy of protected area zoning in preserving natural soundscapes, controlling anthropogenic noise intrusion, and conserving biodiversity in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, I simultaneously sampled three management zones (protected, recreational, and buffer) with passive acoustic monitoring and conducted a soundscape analysis. There was no difference in the overall acoustic space used among the three management areas, but compositional differences among the soundscapes were detected. Such variation was related to differences in species composition along the elevation gradient, habitat transformation, and anthropogenic noise. Anthropogenic noise was more conspicuous in the buffer and recreational areas, where many bird species are classified as highly vulnerable to noise. Although the management zones in El Yunque National Forest were not created for the purpose of noise control, management is shown to be useful for minimizing noise intrusion in the strictly protected zone. In recreational and buffer areas, complementary strategies such as traffic limitations, limiting access to specific areas, and noise reduction educational programs should be implemented to maintain the natural soundscape while conserving biodiversity. Finally, the noise vulnerability classification proposed in this study could be a useful tool for assisting managers and researchers in defining priority strategies for sensitive species that require special attention and protection.

Passive acoustic sampling data of the Colección de Sonidos Ambientales Mauricio Álvarez-Rebolledo - Instituto Humboldt (IAvH-CSA) during 2018 and 2019 in Colombia

“…To collect data, we used automatic recorders assembled by the ARBIMON project of Sieve Analytics Inc [ 2 , 3 ], for the period between February 2018 and December 2019. The recorders consist of a Motorola MotoG cellphone inside a protective case, with an external microphone attached [ 2 , 3 ]. Recorders had installed the Arbimon Touch app for Android, which allows us to select different recording schemes.…”

“… Passive sampling with acoustic sensors allows testing of questions about the different components of an acoustic system that characterize a particular ecosystem or species. Acoustic information can be potentially useful in developing conservation management initiatives [2] , elucidating the effects of anthropic activities on the soundscapes [3] , monitoring biodiversity (acoustic) responses in production systems [4] . Also, addressing basic research in species-specific processes by using novel methodologies like occupancy models [5] and automated identification to relate acoustic activity patterns with weather features [6] .…”

Diferencias en paisajes sonoros de sistemas silvopastoriles y potreros tradicionales del piedemonte llanero, Meta, Colombia

“…Cada grabación fue normalizada a -3 dB y se aplicó un filtro de paso alto de 150 Hz en el programa Ocenaudio, con el fin de disminuir un poco la cantidad de viento en algunas grabaciones, que dificultaba la visualización de emisiones acústicas de aves y anuros. Posteriormente, se cargaron en la plataforma de análisis bioacústico ARBIMON ll (https://arbimon.sieve-analytics.com) y se realizó un análisis de paisaje sonoro por agregación de grabaciones por hora, para obtener el comportamiento de la huella acústica de cada sitio (Campos-Cerqueira et al, 2019;Furumo & Aide, 2019;Herrera-Montes, 2018). Para obtener los paisajes sonoros, se definió la agregación de Tabla 1.…”

Conservation beyond boundaries: using animal movement networks in protected area assessment

“…Movement of animals, including birds, is known to be disrupted by disturbances arising from human activities (Doherty, Hays, & Driscoll, 2021). Consequently, many authors emphasize the need to limit the effects of anthropogenic noise in PAs (Barber, Crooks, & Fristrup, 2010; Herrera‐Montes, 2018; Alquezar & Macedo, 2019).…”