Long-term noise pollution affects seedling recruitment and community composition, with negative effects persisting after removal

Abstract

Noise pollution can affect species' behaviours and distributions and may hold significant consequences for natural communities. While several studies have researched short-term effects of noise, no long-term research has examined whether observed patterns persist or if community recovery can occur. We used a long-term study system in New Mexico to examine the effects of continuous natural gas well noise exposure on seedling recruitment of foundational tree species ( Pinus edulis , Juniperus osteosperma ) and vegetation diversity. First, we examined seedling recruitment and vegetation diversity at plots where current noise levels have persisted for greater than 15 years. We then examined recruitment and diversity on plots where noise sources were recently removed or added. We found support for long-term negative effects of noise on tree seedling recruitment, evenness of woody plants and increasingly dissimilar vegetation communities with differences in noise levels. Furthermore, seedling recruitment and plant community composition did not recover following noise removal, possibly due in part to a lag in recovery among animals that disperse and pollinate plants. Our results add to the limited evidence that noise has cascading ecological effects. Moreover, these effects may be long lasting and noise removal may not lead to immediate recovery.

From behaviour to complex communities: Resilience to anthropogenic noise in a fish-induced trophic cascade

“…Bird response to gas-well-compressor noise was found species-specific with some key seed dispersers (mountain bluebirds and Woodhouse’s scrub-jays) avoiding noisy areas where pollinators like hummingbirds had on the contrary higher reproductive success [14]. Long-term consequences include alterations in plant communities that persist after removal of the noise source [15]. The propensity of anthropogenic noise to indirectly affect species, and typically primary producers, through a series of nested direct interactions had also been suggested experimentally.…”

How chronic anthropogenic noise can affect wildlife communities

“…However, researchers working in grassland prairies documented an effect of the gas extraction infrastructure, rather than the noise that was associated with it (Nenninger and Koper, 2018), showing the complexity of the mechanisms underlying this disturbance. The physiological costs of noise have also been documented using this natural study system demonstrating impacts to glucocorticoid-signaling and reduced fitness across bird species (Kleist et al, 2018), while truly long-term cascading impacts of noise exposure were recently found in a study that revealed chronic noise exposure (15 years) impacted seedling recruitment and woody plant community structure (Phillips et al, 2021). These effects were still in evidence 2-4 years after the removal of noise.…”

Limiting motorboat noise on coral reefs boosts fish reproductive success

“…There is mixed evidence from terrestrial systems on ecological recovery in quieter conditions (e.g. birdsong in lockdown increased 28 , 29 , while seed dispersal around disused gas wells did not 30 ) but, in general, reproductive success and survival are strongly linked to population stability 31 . In fish in particular, improvements in energy intake and energy expenditure could be important drivers of population growth via size-dependent fecundity 32 .…”