Ability to alter song in two grassland songbirds exposed to simulated anthropogenic noise is not related to pre-existing variability

Curry, Claire; Antze, Bridget; Warrington, Miyako H.; Brisay, Paulson G. Des; Rosa, Patrícia da; Koper, Nicola

doi:10.1080/09524622.2017.1289123

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…While this study demonstrated that Savannah sparrows are less responsive to alarm calls in the presence of noise-producing infrastructure, many birds are able to alter the structure of songs [ 33 , 34 , 47 , 48 ] and alarm calls [ 37 , 38 ] in the presence of noise, in order to overcome interference. Thus, if Savannah sparrows alter the structure of alarm calls close to noisy infrastructure such as compressor stations, noise may present less of a barrier than suggested by this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…While it can be difficult to distinguish between masking and distraction, there are some differences in how these two mechanisms act on acoustic signals. While acoustic masking increases with the amplitude of ambient noise [25,33] and the degree to which ambient noise overlaps in frequency with acoustic signals [45], distraction is independent of both these factors [31,46]. Unlike the other infrastructure treatments, compressor stations can be heard by the human ear up to a kilometre away (B. Antze 2014, personal observation), but the noise they produce may not contribute substantially to the overall sound pressure level of noise throughout the compressor station sites when other natural noise sources are present, such as wind, insects and other birds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Noisy anthropogenic infrastructure interferes with alarm responses in Savannah sparrows ( Passerculus sandwichensis )

Antze

Koper

2018

R. Soc. open sci.

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Many birds rely on anti-predator communication to protect their nests; however, anthropogenic noise from industrial activities such as oil and gas development may disrupt acoustic communication. Here, we conducted acoustic playback experiments to determine whether Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) responded to conspecific alarm calls by delaying feeding visits, and whether this response was impaired by noise-producing natural gas compressor stations, generator- or grid-powered screw pump oil wells, and noise amplitude. We played alarm calls, and, as a control, western meadowlark songs, to Savannah sparrows as they approached their nests to feed their nestlings, and measured feeding latency. The greatest impacts on behaviour were detected at the noisiest treatment, compressor stations; feeding latency was shortened here compared with control sites, which may expose nests to greater predation risk. As noise amplitudes increased, Savannah sparrows took longer to feed following meadowlark playbacks, perhaps because noise interfered with interpretation of acoustic cues. The effects of compressor stations on anti-predator behaviour may be best explained by the distracting effects of anthropogenic noise, while increases in feeding latency following meadowlark playbacks may be explained by a heightened response threshold caused by acoustic masking. Industrial infrastructure can influence the reproductive success of wildlife through its impact on perception and interpretation of conspecific signals, but these effects are complex.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Noisy anthropogenic infrastructure interferes with alarm responses in Savannah sparrows ( Passerculus sandwichensis )

Antze

Koper

2018

R. Soc. open sci.

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“…Henslow's sparrows may choose to avoid placing territories near oil wells because their low decibel songs and secretive nature may make individual's vocalizations difficult to detect by conspecifics. However, other grassland birds with similar songs have been show to alter their singing behavior in the presence of anthropogenic noise (Curry et al 2018), and it is unclear if the broad frequency range of the Henslow's sparrow song would allow for similar adjustments (Leftwich and Ritchison 2000). For species of conservation concern, such as the Henslow's sparrow, understanding the exact mechanisms that cause their response to anthropogenic features will be especially important in managing for this species in increasingly fragmented landscapes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape heterogeneity influences the response of grassland birds to energy development

Londe¹,

Fuhlendorf²,

Elmore

et al. 2019

Wildlife Biology

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Grasslands are inherently dynamic systems having developed with frequent disturbance from fire and grazing that varies in space and time to create heterogeneity. Today, many management practices emphasize the even use of grasslands by grazers and either no fire or uniform fires, resulting in grasslands that lack the variability in plant structure and composition to support the entire suite of grassland biodiversity. Previous research has suggested that the reintroduction of variable disturbance may be among the best conservation strategies for grassland birds, as these practices promote diversity and abundance of many species. However, the reintroduction of heterogeneity is taking place in the context of the continued development of grasslands for energy production, and the utility of heterogeneity based management practices may decline in fragmented landscapes. We investigated how fragmentation from oil and gas may constrain management efforts to promote biodiversity by evaluating changes in bird abundance with distance from roads and conventional oil wells across a gradient of times since fire. We found that time since fire was the primary driver of grassland bird distribution, with dickcissels, eastern meadowlark and grasshopper sparrows occurring in all vegetation patches, while Henslow's sparrows primarily occurred in patches that were greater than 13 months post‐fire and upland sandpipers were mostly detected in recent burns. Further, Henslow's sparrows avoided oil wells for considerable distances, while eastern meadowlark was more abundant in areas close to oil wells in vegetation patches that were one‐year post‐fire. Grasshopper sparrows avoided roads in recent burns and dickcissels, and eastern meadowlarks were attracted to roads in patches that were recently burned and one‐year post‐fire, respectively. The restoration of heterogeneous fire regimes will benefit bird communities by creating variable vegetation structure that can support multiple grassland bird species; however, energy development has the potential to fragment grasslands for some species.

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“…In recent decades, the detrimental effects of anthropogenic noise on bird diversity have been the focus of numerous studies (Antze, Koper, 2018;Cardoso et al, 2018;Curry et al, 2018a;Kleist et al, 2018;Machado et al, 2017;Mulholland et al, 2018;Polak et al, 2013;Varasteh, 2011;Wiącek et al, 2015). Roadways have various negative effects on bird communities (Freed, Cann, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Transport Infrastructure Development on Bird Diversity and Abundance

Rabiei

Chamani

Moshtaghi

2019

Ekológia (Bratislava)

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Rashidi M., Chamani A., Moshtaghi M.: The influence of transport infrastructure development on bird diversity and abundance. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 38, No. 2, p. 178-188, 2019. In recent decades, detrimental effects of roads have been the focus of numerous studies. Roadways have various negative effects, such as habitat fragmentation, noise and air pollution, on bird communities. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of traffic noise on the bird's abundance during autumn period. Field operations were performed in a forest located parallel to a main high-traffic highway. The bird's abundance was recorded using a point counting method at 27 points along three transects (65, 335 and 605 m from the road). The counting at each point was conducted every five minutes and repeated once every week (12 times during autumn). Environmental indices including the number of trees with DBH of over 20 cm, the number of standing dead trees, canopy cover percentage and Leq 30 were also measured. A total of 2950 bird belonging to 30 species were observed. The number of dominant species (more than 10) in the area considerably changed as the distance from the road increased. Leq 30 had the greatest correlation coefficient with bird abundance. Therefore, traffic noise has negative effects on the bird's abundance in this area.

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Ability to alter song in two grassland songbirds exposed to simulated anthropogenic noise is not related to pre-existing variability

Cited by 17 publications

References 60 publications

Noisy anthropogenic infrastructure interferes with alarm responses in Savannah sparrows ( Passerculus sandwichensis )

Noisy anthropogenic infrastructure interferes with alarm responses in Savannah sparrows ( Passerculus sandwichensis )

Landscape heterogeneity influences the response of grassland birds to energy development

The Influence of Transport Infrastructure Development on Bird Diversity and Abundance

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