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Chronic anthropogenic noise disrupts glucocorticoid signaling and has…
Chronic anthropogenic noise disrupts glucocorticoid signaling and has multiple effects on fitness in an avian community.
Abstract
As the earth becomes more populated, humans have increased the amount of noise, which research has shown to be detrimental to wildlife.
Researchers predicted that persistent exposure to noise pollution negatively impacts glucocorticoid function and fitness in species of birds that use prebuilt cavity nests.
The scientists believe that exposure to human-induced noise pollution leads to a decrease in baseline corticosteroids in adults and juvenile birds. They also show an increase in acute stressor-induced corticosterone in juvenile birds.
They are also able to show that increased noise amplitudes led to decreased fitness in the form of reduced hatching success in western bluebirds.
The researchers found that juvenile birds showed increased growth of body size and feather growth when exposed to mid-level noise when compared to low or high noise levels.
Their study suggests that pervasive noise pollution causes chronic stress and a reduction in fitness for many species of birds, especially birds that rely on environmental cues.
Introduction
Human-induced noise pollution changes the quality of the habitat making them unsuitable for birds that are sensitive to noise.
Noise pollution changes how birds communicate with each other in relationship to predator vigilance, parental care, and foraging behavior.
Determining the exact mechanism involved is very difficult given that noise pollution can affect a bird's physiology directly or by changing the way they react with their environment. .
This research is necessary given the increase in noise pollution around the world that outpaces our growing human population.
Birds produce glucocorticoids as a response to stress and physiologists use baseline measurements of those steroids to assess habitat quality indirectly.
Birds that are chronically stressed can develop allostatic overload that can ultimately effect their fitness.
Scientists believe that noise pollution has the greatest negative impact when the noise frequency obscures auditory communication such as predator alarm calls.
Acoustic masking can inhibit a bird's ability to glean valuable information about a habitat from hetero and conspecifics, creating insecurity and uncertainty which can lead to stress and anxiety.
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Results/discussion
There was a negative effect on baseline corticosterone level in adult females when exposed to persistent sound.
The researchers also found that juvenile birds had lower levels of baseline corticosterone when exposed to high noise.
The reduction in baseline corticosterone levels in response to persistent noise was seen across all three species.
Researchers draw the conclusion that the effect of persistent noise on corticosterone levels in birds would be seen across all species.
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Kleist NJ, Guralnick RP, Cruz A, Lowry CA, Francis CD. 2018. Chronic anthropogenic noise disrupts glucocorticoid signaling and has multiple effects on fitness in an avian community. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.115(4):E648–E657.