TY - JOUR

T1 - Exposure to noise pollution across North American passerines supports the noise filter hypothesis

AU - Cardoso, Gonçalo C.

AU - Klingbeil, Brian T.

AU - La Sorte, Frank A.

AU - Lepczyk, Christopher A.

AU - Fink, Daniel

AU - Flather, Curtis H.

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - The noise filter hypothesis predicts that species using higher sound frequencies should be more tolerant of noise pollution, because anthropogenic noise is more intense at low frequencies. Klingbeil et al. (Klingbeil, La Sorte, Lepczyk, Fink, & Flather, [2020]. Geographical associations with anthropogenic noise pollution for North American breeding birds. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29, 148–158) analysed continental-scale data on anthropogenic noise across the USA and found that passerine species inhabiting more noise-polluted areas do not have higher peak song frequency but have more complex songs. However, this metric of song complexity is of ambiguous interpretation, because it can indicate either diverse syllables or a larger frequency bandwidth. In the latter case, the finding would support the noise filter hypothesis, because larger frequency bandwidths mean that more sound energy spreads to frequencies that are less masked by anthropogenic noise. We reanalysed questions asked by Klingbeil et al. using a more thorough dataset of acoustic song measurements and showed that it is large frequency bandwidths, rather than diverse syllables, that predict the exposure of species to noise pollution. Given that larger bandwidths often encompass higher maximum frequencies, which are less masked by anthropogenic noise, our result suggests that tolerance to noise pollution might depend mostly on having the high-frequency parts of song little masked by noise, thus preventing acoustic communication from going entirely unnoticed at long distances.

AB - The noise filter hypothesis predicts that species using higher sound frequencies should be more tolerant of noise pollution, because anthropogenic noise is more intense at low frequencies. Klingbeil et al. (Klingbeil, La Sorte, Lepczyk, Fink, & Flather, [2020]. Geographical associations with anthropogenic noise pollution for North American breeding birds. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29, 148–158) analysed continental-scale data on anthropogenic noise across the USA and found that passerine species inhabiting more noise-polluted areas do not have higher peak song frequency but have more complex songs. However, this metric of song complexity is of ambiguous interpretation, because it can indicate either diverse syllables or a larger frequency bandwidth. In the latter case, the finding would support the noise filter hypothesis, because larger frequency bandwidths mean that more sound energy spreads to frequencies that are less masked by anthropogenic noise. We reanalysed questions asked by Klingbeil et al. using a more thorough dataset of acoustic song measurements and showed that it is large frequency bandwidths, rather than diverse syllables, that predict the exposure of species to noise pollution. Given that larger bandwidths often encompass higher maximum frequencies, which are less masked by anthropogenic noise, our result suggests that tolerance to noise pollution might depend mostly on having the high-frequency parts of song little masked by noise, thus preventing acoustic communication from going entirely unnoticed at long distances.

KW - anthropogenic noise

KW - birdsong

KW - habitat types

KW - noise filter hypothesis

KW - song complexity

KW - song frequency bandwidth

U2 - 10.1111/geb.13085

DO - 10.1111/geb.13085

M3 - Letter

AN - SCOPUS:85081271106

VL - 29

SP - 1430

EP - 1434

JO - Global Ecology and Biogeography

JF - Global Ecology and Biogeography

SN - 1466-822X

IS - 8

ER -