Traffic noise may make birds age faster

August 27, 2018, BioMed Central

Traffic noise may be associated with an increased rate of telomere loss in Zebra finches that have left the nest, according to a study published in Frontiers in Zoology. Telomeres are caps on the ends of chromosomes that protect genes from damage. Shortening of telomeres indicates accelerated biological aging.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Germany and North Dakota State University, USA, investigated the effect of traffic noise on the telomere length of offspring Zebra finches. The researchers found that zebra finches that were exposed to traffic noise after they had left the nest had shorter telomeres at 120 days of age than Zebra finches that were exposed to noise until 18 days post-hatch (before they had left the nest) and whose parents were exposed to traffic noise during courtship, egg-laying, and nesting. Finches exposed to noise after leaving the nest also had shorter telomeres than those which had not been exposed to traffic noise at all.

Dr. Adriana Dorado-Correa, corresponding author of the study, said: "Our study suggests that urban noise alone, independent from the many other aspects of city life, such as light pollution or chemical pollution, is associated with increased telomere loss and may contribute to aging in Zebra finches. Our study is a first step towards identifying the causal mechanisms that may account for differences in life span observed between birds living in urban or rural environments."

Dr. Sue Anne Zollinger, co-author of the study added: "Cellular ageing as a result of urban stressors is something that may not have a very visible impact, but our study indicates that although birds may seem to be adapting to life in noisy cities, they may actually be aging faster. It may be important to consider developmental stages in birds when studying the effects of urbanization, as the mechanisms by which these human-induced habitat changes impact individuals may change throughout their lifetime."

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Songbirds sound the alarm about traffic noise

Date: November 30, 2016

Source: Pacific University (Ore.)

A new study led by Pacific University biologist Chris Templeton demonstrates that the alarm calls of songbirds are dramatically impaired by road traffic noise. Research by Templeton and colleagues has shown that signals critical for the survival of animals are compromised when birds live near even moderately busy roads.

The study appears in the Nov. 21 edition of Current Biology, and notes that "failure of species to detect anti-predator signals could have significant negative consequences for animals living near roads and other sources of anthropogenic noise."

Previous research strongly suggests that noise pollution impacts the ability of birds and other animals to effectively transmit information in their courtship signals. Templeton and his colleagues' findings look at the impact that noise generated by nearby vehicular traffic has on the ability of birds to alert one another of impending danger, such as the presence of predatory species. "When a bird of prey like a hawk or owl is discovered, many species of birds produce alarm calls to warn other individuals in their flock of the impending danger," Templeton said.

In collaboration with Sue Anne Zollinger and Henrik Brumm (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Germany), Templeton examined how traffic noise affects both how birds produce alarm calls and how other individuals in their flocks respond to them. He and his team researched the behavior of a songbird species named the great tit (Parus major).


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Traffic noise reduces wild owls' foraging efficiency

Date: September 27, 2016

Source: Hokkaido University

A team of researchers has found that traffic noise reduces the foraging efficiency of wild owls by up to 89 percent. The team's world-first study examined how different levels of such noise affect the hunting efficiency of these nocturnal predators, which employ a keen auditory sense to locate prey in the darkness.

As transportation networks rapidly develop around the world, concerns have been heightening over the adverse effects of traffic noise on wild animals, particularly "acoustic predators," which depend on their acute sense of hearing to catch prey. However, as it is difficult to observe wild owls' nighttime foraging activities, the hypothesis that traffic noise reduces the hunting efficiency of acoustic predators was unsubstantiated prior to this study.

The team of researchers from Hokkaido University's Graduate School of Agriculture, the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, and California Polytechnic State University developed an artificial prey rustling sound to attract owls and thus facilitate observation of the birds' nighttime hunting pursuits. From December 2014 to March 2015, the team conducted experiments at 103 locations in Yufutsu Plain in Hokkaido and Sendai Plain in Miyagi Prefecture -- both in northern Japan -- where owls overwinter. In the experiments, researchers scrutinized the foraging activities of 78 owls (45 short-eared owls and 33 long-eared owls) while playing back different levels of recorded traffic noise and a constant level of an artificial prey rustling sound.

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