{"id":29170,"date":"2017-01-30T16:32:11","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T21:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=29170"},"modified":"2017-01-30T17:18:17","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T22:18:17","slug":"traffic-noise-reduces-birds-response-to-alarm-calls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/traffic-noise-reduces-birds-response-to-alarm-calls\/","title":{"rendered":"Traffic Noise Reduces Birds\u2019 Response to Alarm Calls"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/TTitmouse-caling-Morrisey-e1484929890790.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/TTitmouse-caling-Morrisey-e1484929890790-720x447.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/TTitmouse-caling-Morrisey-e1484929890790-768x477.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/TTitmouse-caling-Morrisey-e1484929890790-480x298.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/TTitmouse-caling-Morrisey-e1484929890790.jpg 1226w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Tutfted Titmouse calling. Photo by Ryan Morrisey via Birdshare.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>A Tufted Titmouse calling. <em>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/gkXe2m\">Ryan Morrisey<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/groups\/birdshare\/\">Birdshare<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption>\n              <\/figure><\/div>\n<p><em><small>Editor\u2019s note: The following research summary\u00a0describes a new article in <\/em>The Condor: Ornithological Applications<em>, a journal of The American Ornithologists&#8217; Union, and was provided by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aoucospubs.org\/\">Central Ornithology Publication Office<\/a>.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n<p>Pollution can take many forms\u2014including noise. Excess noise in the environment from sources such as traffic can have negative effects on animals that rely on sound to communicate and get information about their surroundings. A new study from <em>The Condor: Ornithological Applications<\/em> shows that traffic noise makes birds less responsive to alarm calls that would otherwise alert them to dangers such as predators.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" id=\"hs-cta-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\"><!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]--><a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3.png\"  alt=\"New self-paced course: Learn How to Identify Bird Songs, Click to Learn More\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a><\/span><script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> hbspt.cta.load(95627, 'a8fe3c9a-217b-40fd-b1ff-2bb76ebe2cf3', {}); <\/script><\/span><!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n<!--<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">\r\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" id=\"hs-cta-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\">-->\r\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\r\n        <!--<a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\"  target=\"_blank\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd.png\"  alt=\"Join the Cornell Lab\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\r\n    <\/span>\r\n    <script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script>\r\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n        hbspt.cta.load(95627, '394b2cc2-4447-4677-b18b-d2f2de5b57cd', {});\r\n    <\/script>\r\n<\/span>-->\r\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Megan Gall and Jacob Damsky of New York\u2019s Vassar College tested how traffic noise affected the reactions of Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice to titmouse alarm calls, which warn birds that a predator is nearby. Using speakers set up near feeding platforms baited with bird seed, they recorded the birds\u2019 responses to three different recordings\u2014alarm calls alone, traffic noise alone, and a combination of the two. The traffic noise didn\u2019t deter the birds from feeding, but five times as many birds approached speakers when the researchers played alarm calls on their own compared with when traffic sounds were added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere has been lots of work on how anthropogenic noise affects vocal production, but much less on the response of animals to signals in the presence of noise,\u201d says Gall. \u201cAdditionally, a lot of this work focuses on song, but we were interested in how noise might affect responses to an anti-predator vocalization.\u00a0 These vocalizations are evoked by the presence of a predator and so are closely linked in time with a particular stimulus.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-list list-style\"><h2 class=\"article-list-header\">Related Stories<\/h2><ul><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/bad_vibrations_summer2011.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/bad_vibrations_summer2011.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/bad_vibrations_summer2011-480x311.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"As noise pollution gets worse some birds sing louder.\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Bad Vibrations: The Problem of Noise Pollution<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article content-sounds content-video\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/AlarmCall-FI.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/AlarmCall-FI.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/AlarmCall-FI-240x135.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/AlarmCall-FI-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"alarm calling Black-capped Chickadee by Steve Gettle\/Minden Pictures;\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Look out! The Backyard Bird Alarm Call Network<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/BTBWarbler-Bourdon.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/BTBWarbler-Bourdon.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/BTBWarbler-Bourdon-240x135.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Black-throated Blue Warblers have a high mortality rate during migration. photo \u00a9 Mike Bourdon\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Traffic Noise and its Impact on Birds<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The study\u2019s results suggest that traffic noise can reduce birds\u2019 ability to hear an alarm call, potentially increasing their vulnerability to predators. \u201cGall and Damsky\u2019s experiment helps us understand how human-caused noise can interfere with the transfer of information among animals in social groups,\u201d according Florida Atlantic University\u2019s Rindy Anderson, an expert in vocal communication in birds who was not involved with the study. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting that the birds\u2019 foraging behavior was not affected under any of the playback conditions, which suggests that the behavioral effects were due to the call playbacks being masked by noise, rather than the noise being simply aversive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the journal:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>The Condor: Ornithological Applications<\/em>\u00a0is a peer-reviewed, international journal of ornithology. It began in 1899 as the journal of the Cooper Ornithological Club, a group of ornithologists in California that became the Cooper Ornithological Society, which merged with the American Ornithologists\u2019 Union in 2016 to become the American Ornithological Society.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group well-gray has-lightgray-background-color has-background\">\n<h4>Reference<\/h4>\n<p>Damsky, J. and Gall, M.D. (2017) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bioone.org\/doi\/10.1650\/CONDOR-16-146.1\">Anthropogenic noise reduces approach of Black-capped Chickadee (<em>Poecile atricapillus<\/em>) and Tufted Titmouse (<em>Baeolophus bicolor<\/em>) to Tufted Titmouse mobbing calls<\/a>. <em>The Condor<\/em>\u00a0119(1): 26-33.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editor\u2019s note: The following research summary\u00a0describes a new article in The Condor: Ornithological Applications, a journal of The American Ornithologists&#8217; Union, and was provided by the Central Ornithology Publication Office.<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/traffic-noise-reduces-birds-response-to-alarm-calls\/\" title=\"ReadTraffic Noise Reduces Birds\u2019 Response to Alarm Calls\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":29172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":0,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"","_birdpress_featured_image":false,"_birdpress_hero_toggle":false,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":0,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"","_birdpress_prev_article":0,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_topic":0,"wds_primary_content-format":0,"wds_primary_cornell-lab-project":0,"wds_primary_host-project":0,"wds_primary_read-more-tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[998,1043],"content-format":[1055],"cornell-lab-project":[],"host-project":[],"read-more-tag":[],"class_list":["post-29170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-news-and-features","topic-science-conservation-news-and-features","content-format-article"],"metadata":{"associated-posts":[""],"_edit_lock":["1493308531:4"],"_edit_last":["4"],"wdsi_message_id":[""],"wdsi_do_not_show":[""],"_wds_meta-robots-adv":[",,,"],"wpa_off":[null],"custom-byline":["<div 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