Chronic traffic noise increases food intake and alters gene expression associated with metabolism and disease in bats

Abstract

1. Anthropogenic noise exposure has deleterious effects on the foraging ecology of many animals. However, the effects of chronic anthropogenic noise on food intake and health condition in wildlife remain largely unknown. 2. We tested whether traffic noise exposure over multiple days would change food intake and would have effects on the health of Asian particoloured bats. We broadcast traffic noise to the bats of two noise-exposure groups (group A, five bats; group C, six bats) and broadcast silence files to the bats of two control groups (group B, five bats; group D, six bats) for 12 days. We measured the changes in food intake, body weight and concentration of faecal triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) in groups A and B. We compared the transcriptional profiles in brain, kidney and liver tissues between bats in groups C and D. 3. The bats exposed to traffic noise had a significantly higher daily food intake and a significantly greater body weight than bats in control group during the period of playback. Faecal T3 and T4 were higher in the noise-exposure group after playback had been on for more than 1 day. 4. We found a total of 169 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between noiseexposure and control groups. Some DEGs related to stress response were upregulated in the bats exposed to noise. The 169 DEGs were mainly enriched in Gene Ontology (GO) terms associated with metabolism, fundamental cellular processes, stress response and immune response. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways affected by noise exposure were linked with metabolism, disease, apoptosis, autophagy, phagosome and ribosome. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that bats exposed to chronic traffic noise while roosting may need more energetic intake and have a greater motivation to forage than others not exposed to noise, probably as a result of a stress response. Furthermore, chronic traffic noise may increase the risk of metabolic dysregulation, immune disorders and other diseases. Management measures for reducing noise disturbance, for example, implementing sound barriers, are essential.

The Effects of Anthropogenic Sound and Artificial Light Exposure on Microbiomes: Ecological and Public Health Implications

“…Indeed, noise-induced reductions in foraging efficiency have been demonstrated in bats (Luo et al, 2015), owls (Mason et al, 2016), flounder larvae Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Gendron et al, 2020), and crabs (Wale et al, 2013). Chronic traffic noise can alter gene expression in bats, which associates with metabolic dysregulation and stress (Song et al, 2020). Artificial light at night (ALAN) can affect insect movement, foraging, reproduction and predatory behavior (Owens et al, 2020) and may represent broader disturbances to ecosystems by disrupting mutualistic interactions across trophic levels (Maggi et al, 2020b).…”

Have artificial lighting and noise pollution caused zoonosis and the COVID-19 pandemic? A review

“…4 ). In particular, noise-induced reductions in foraging rates and efficiencies have been well documented in bats (Song et al 2020 ; Finch et al 2020 ). In a recent field study, Finch et al ( 2020 ) showed that traffic noise playback reduced the activity and feeding of five ecologically different species in the Myotis septentrionalis genus, at 20 m away from the noise source.…”

“…A recent study reported on how chronic noise pollution altered the diet and gene expression of bats. The group of researchers collected 22 non‐pregnant adult female Asian parti-colored bats ( Vespertilio sinensis ) living under the bridges with heavy traffic flows in the daytime, transferred them to a 12 m 3 cage, and kept them in a husbandry room (Song et al 2020 ). After being cultivated in a noise-free environment for eight days, noise and silence playbacks were broadcast separately to two bat groups during 08:30–18:30 for 12 consecutive days to test whether short-period traffic noise exposure would change their food intake or have any noticeable health effects on Asian parti-colored bats.…”

“…The study found that, compared with those kept in the silent environment, bats exposed to traffic noise for 12 days showed a significant increase in their food consumption and energy expenditure. Since traffic noise reduced their foraging efficiency, some bats increased their energy consumption by prolonging their foraging time or foraging in more dangerous habitats and, in other cases, conserved their energy by decreasing activity levels or mating (Song et al 2020 ). Chronic noise pollution also has negative impacts on the gene expression alteration of bats, such as metabolic disorder, i.e., causing diabetes and obesity, immune system dysfunction, and elevated risks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (Song et al 2020 ).…”

The Effects of Anthropogenic Sound and Artificial Light Exposure on Microbiomes: Ecological and Public Health Implications

“…Indeed, noise-induced reductions in foraging efficiency have been demonstrated in bats (Luo et al 2015), owls (Mason et al 2016), flounder larvae Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Gendron et al 2020), and crabs (Wale et al 2013). Chronic traffic noise can alter gene expression in bats, which associates with metabolic dysregulation and stress (Song et al 2020). Artificial light at night (ALAN) can affect insect movement, foraging, reproduction and predatory behaviour (Owens et al 2020) and may represent broader disturbances to ecosystems by disrupting mutualistic interactions across trophic levels (Maggi et al 2020).…”