CAREER: Towards a complete picture of communication in anthropogenic noise - Auditory processing among urban and rural soundscapes.

该奖项全部或部分由2021年美国救援计划法案（公法117 - 2）资助。人类活动产生的噪音在过去几十年中急剧增加，被认为是主要的污染源。高水平的噪音会对动物产生负面影响，特别是那些用声音交流的动物。一些研究已经调查了人类产生的噪声如何损害语音通信信号的识别。有趣的是，一些研究表明，生活在城市中的动物产生的信号会发生变化，这有助于它们应对噪音的负面影响。听觉是否以及如何响应人类产生的噪音而改变尚不清楚。研究太平洋合唱蛙的标志性'ribbit'，这个项目正是探索这一点。我们将比较生活在旧金山弗朗西斯科湾区城市和农村地区的青蛙的叫声和听觉能力。我们还将研究这种叫声和听觉能力的变化是否能让动物在嘈杂的环境中更容易交流。此外，我们将探讨城市和农村人口的听力变化是否与耳朵结构的变化有关。这些研究活动将得到教育活动的补充，包括对不同学生群体的研究培训和在当地社区的科学教育推广。由于该项目将进一步了解噪声污染对感官感知和行为的影响，我们的研究结果可以为保护和城市化工作提供信息，并促进与人类互动的通信设备设计的进步。在过去的几十年中，人为噪声急剧增加，成为污染的主要形式。因此，人们越来越有兴趣了解人为噪声对动物行为的影响。对于用声音交流的动物来说，人为噪声会损害声音信号的检测和识别。一些研究已经调查了声音信号和信号行为如何改变，以尽量减少人为噪声的有害影响。相比之下，我们不知道城市动物的听觉能力是否也会改变，以更好地应对高水平的噪音。该项目的核心假设是，在自然和人为噪声水平不同的人群中，听觉系统在促进信号接收方面存在差异。我们将测试这一假设，使用太平洋合唱青蛙（Hyliola regilla）的人口低和高水平的自然和人为噪音。具体而言，我们将（i）表征不同噪声水平的人群的声学环境（声景）和声音信号，（ii）确定听觉处理能力如何在声景之间变化，（iii）确定发声和听力能力的这种变化如何与声学介导的交配行为相关，以及（iv）研究听觉处理能力的人群水平变化的解剖机制。通过结合听觉处理的行为学、生理学和解剖学研究，该项目将进一步加深我们对新环境如何塑造感觉、感知和动物交流系统的理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Noise generated by human activity has increased dramatically over the past decades and is considered a major source of pollution. High levels of noise can have negative effects on animals, particularly those that communicate with sounds. Several studies have investigated how human-generated noise can impair the recognition of vocal communication signals. Interestingly, some studies have shown changes in signals produced by animals that live in cities that help them cope with the negative effects of noise. Whether and how the sense of hearing can change in response to human-generated noise is not known. Studying the iconic ‘ribbit’ of Pacific chorus frogs, this project explores precisely this. We will compare the calls and the hearing abilities of frogs that live in urban and rural regions across the San Francisco Bay Area. We will also study whether such changes in calls and hearing abilities allow animals to communicate easier in noisy environments. Further, we will explore whether changes in hearing among urban and rural populations are related to changes in the structure of the ear. These research activities will be complemented by educational activities, including research training of diverse student populations and science education outreach in local communities. As this project will further our understanding of the consequences of noise pollution for sensory perception and behavior, our results can inform conservation and urbanization efforts and promote progress in the design of communication devices that interact with humans.Anthropogenic noise has dramatically increased over the past decades, becoming a major form of pollution. Accordingly, there is growing interest in understanding the effects of anthropogenic noise on animal behavior. For animals that communicate acoustically, anthropogenic noise can impair the detection and recognition of vocal signals. Several studies have investigated how vocal signals and signaling behaviors change to minimize the detrimental effects of anthropogenic noise. In contrast, we do not know whether the hearing capabilities of urban animals also change to better cope with high levels of noise. The central hypothesis of this project is that, among populations with different levels of natural and anthropogenic noise, the auditory system varies in ways that facilitate signal reception. We will test this hypothesis using Pacific chorus frogs (Hyliola regilla) from populations with low and high levels of natural and anthropogenic noise. Specifically, we will (i) characterize the acoustic environment (soundscape) and vocal signals of populations with different levels of noise, (ii) determine how auditory processing abilities vary among soundscapes, (iii) determine how such variation in vocalizations and hearing abilities relate to acoustically-mediated mating behavior, and (iv) examine anatomical mechanisms underlying population-level variation in auditory processing abilities. By combining behavioral, physiological, and anatomical studies of auditory processing, this project will further our understanding of how novel environments shape sensation, perception, and animal communication systems in general.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.