A major new study reveals pervasive noise pollution is disrupting bird behaviour and harming reproduction success across six continents.
PARIS: Human noise pollution is having a pervasive and damaging impact on bird populations worldwide.
A large-scale analysis published on Wednesday found anthropogenic noise disrupts essential behaviours and significantly harms reproductive success.
Researchers reviewed nearly four decades of scientific work across 160 bird species. They found noise from planes, traffic and construction interferes with birds on six continents.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, established clear global trends. It found noise significantly impacts communication, foraging, aggression and physiology.
Noise also had a strong effect on habitat use and a negative impact on reproduction. Birds rely on acoustic information to survive, making them vulnerable to the modern din.
“They use song to find mates, calls to warn of predators, and chicks make begging calls to let their parents know they’re hungry,” lead researcher Natalie Madden said. “So if there’s loud noise in the environment, can they still hear signals from their own species?”
In some cases, noise pollution interrupted mating displays or masked messages between chicks and parents. It caused males to change their courtship songs.
The response varied between species. Birds that nest close to the ground suffered greater reproductive harm.
Those using open nests experienced stronger effects on growth. Birds in urban areas tended to have higher stress hormones than those outside cities.
The authors called noise pollution an “underappreciated consequence” of humanity’s impact on nature. This is especially true compared to biodiversity loss and climate change.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said in October that 61% of the world’s bird species have declining populations. Many solutions to combat noise pollution already exist, according to the study’s senior author Neil Carter.
Buildings constructed to minimise bird collisions could be adapted to stifle sound. “We know how to use different materials and how to put things up in different ways to block sound,” Carter said.
He added that awareness and interest are now needed to implement these known solutions.