Dataset Information

Effects of light and noise pollution on avian communities of European cities are correlated with the species' diet.

ABSTRACT: Urbanization affects avian community composition in European cities, increasing biotic homogenization. Anthropic pollution (such as light at night and noise) is among the most important drivers shaping bird use in urban areas, where bird species are mainly attracted by urban greenery. In this study, we collected data on 127 breeding bird species at 1349 point counts distributed along a gradient of urbanization in fourteen different European cities. The main aim was to explore the effects of anthropic pollution and city characteristics, on shaping the avian communities, regarding species' diet composition. The green cover of urban areas increased the number of insectivorous and omnivorous bird species, while slightly decreasing the overall diet heterogeneity of the avian communities. The green heterogeneity-a measure of evenness considering the relative coverage of grass, shrubs and trees-was positively correlated with the richness of granivorous, insectivorous, and omnivorous species, increasing the level of diet heterogeneity in the assemblages. Additionally, the effects of light pollution on avian communities were associated with the species' diet. Overall, light pollution negatively affected insectivorous and omnivorous bird species while not affecting granivorous species. The noise pollution, in contrast, was not significantly associated with changes in species assemblages. Our results offer some tips to urban planners, managers, and ecologists, in the challenge of producing more eco-friendly cities for the future.

SUBMITTER: Morelli F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10020436 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of light and noise pollution on avian communities of European cities are correlated with the species' diet.

Morelli Federico F Tryjanowski Piotr P Ibáñez-Álamo Juan Diego JD Díaz Mario M Suhonen Jukka J Pape Møller Anders A Prosek Jiri J Moravec David D Bussière Raphaël R Mägi Marko M Kominos Theodoros T Galanaki Antonia A Bukas Nikos N Markó Gábor G Pruscini Fabio F Reif Jiri J Benedetti Yanina Y

Scientific reports 20230316 1

Urbanization affects avian community composition in European cities, increasing biotic homogenization. Anthropic pollution (such as light at night and noise) is among the most important drivers shaping bird use in urban areas, where bird species are mainly attracted by urban greenery. In this study, we collected data on 127 breeding bird species at 1349 point counts distributed along a gradient of urbanization in fourteen different European cities. The main aim was to explore the effects of anth ...[more]

PMID: 36928766

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Project description:BackgroundHuman-generated noise pollution now permeates natural habitats worldwide, presenting evolutionarily novel acoustic conditions unprecedented to most landscapes. These acoustics not only harm humans, but threaten wildlife, and especially birds, via changes to species densities, foraging behavior, reproductive success, and predator-prey interactions. Explanations for negative effects of noise on birds include disruption of acoustic communication through energetic masking, potentially forcing species that rely upon acoustic communication to abandon otherwise suitable areas. However, this hypothesis has not been adequately tested because confounding stimuli often co-vary with noise and are difficult to separate from noise exposure.Methodology/principal findingsUsing a natural experiment that controls for confounding stimuli, we evaluate whether species vocal features or urban-tolerance classifications explain their responses to noise measured through habitat use. Two data sets representing nesting and abundance responses reveal that noise filters bird communities nonrandomly. Signal duration and urban tolerance failed to explain species-specific responses, but birds with low-frequency signals that are more susceptible to masking from noise avoided noisy areas and birds with higher frequency vocalizations remained. Signal frequency was also negatively correlated with body mass, suggesting that larger birds may be more sensitive to noise due to the link between body size and vocal frequency.Conclusions/significanceOur findings suggest that acoustic masking by noise may be a strong selective force shaping the ecology of birds worldwide. Larger birds with lower frequency signals may be excluded from noisy areas, whereas smaller species persist via transmission of higher frequency signals. We discuss our findings as they relate to interspecific relationships among body size, vocal amplitude and frequency and suggest that they are immediately relevant to the global problem of increases in noise by providing critical insight as to which species traits influence tolerance of these novel acoustics.

Project description:IntroductionAir and noise pollution are emerging environmental health hazards in African cities, with potentially complex spatial and temporal patterns. Limited local data are a barrier to the formulation and evaluation of policies to reduce air and noise pollution.Methods and analysisWe designed a year-long measurement campaign to characterise air and noise pollution and their sources at high-resolution within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), Ghana. Our design uses a combination of fixed (year-long, n=10) and rotating (week-long, n =~130) sites, selected to represent a range of land uses and source influences (eg, background, road traffic, commercial, industrial and residential areas, and various neighbourhood socioeconomic classes). We will collect data on fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides (NOx), weather variables, sound (noise level and audio) along with street-level time-lapse images. We deploy low-cost, low-power, lightweight monitoring devices that are robust, socially unobtrusive, and able to function in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) climate. We will use state-of-the-art methods, including spatial statistics, deep/machine learning, and processed-based emissions modelling, to capture highly resolved temporal and spatial variations in pollution levels across the GAMA and to identify their potential sources. This protocol can serve as a prototype for other SSA cities.Ethics and disseminationThis environmental study was deemed exempt from full ethics review at Imperial College London and the University of Massachusetts Amherst; it was approved by the University of Ghana Ethics Committee (ECH 149/18-19). This protocol is designed to be implementable in SSA cities to map environmental pollution to inform urban planning decisions to reduce health harming exposures to air and noise pollution. It will be disseminated through local stakeholder engagement (public and private sectors), peer-reviewed publications, contribution to policy documents, media, and conference presentations.

Dataset Information

Effects of light and noise pollution on avian communities of European cities are correlated with the species' diet.

Publications

Effects of light and noise pollution on avian communities of European cities are correlated with the species' diet.

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