The effect of changing soundscapes on trophic interactions

捕食者与猎物的相互作用是正常运作的生态系统的重要组成部分，而食肉动物可以通过影响营养水平较低的物种来构建生态系统(Suraci等人。2016)。除了直接杀死猎物之外，捕食者的存在本身就可以创造一种影响多个较低营养水平的物种的“恐惧景象”。捕食者的存在对其他动物造成的感知捕食风险是一项重要的生态系统服务，对保护生物多样性和生态系统功能至关重要(Smith等人。2017年)。然而，在许多生态系统中，大型肉食性动物经常被“超级捕食者”，即人类所取代，这给肉食性动物制造了一幅“恐惧的风景”。人类经常通过向生态系统的声景中排放人为噪音的活动来引发这种恐惧。因此，人为噪声可以为捕食者创造一幅“恐惧的风景”，这可能会改变影响营养相互作用的因素。该项目的目的是量化由人为噪音引发的恐惧环境的变化如何影响个体和营养相互作用。我们将使用系统回顾和实地实验来量化人类的存在如何影响不同热带水平的物种。这项工作将包括：(1)两个系统发育控制的荟萃分析，一个是评估恐惧环境的变化与生态系统相互作用之间的关系，另一个是量化人为噪声对捕食者-猎物相互作用的影响。(2)设计和进行模拟人类不存在/存在的野外实验，以确定超级捕食者的存在如何影响不同营养水平的物种(如红松鼠、灰松鼠、松貂和狐狸)。(3)与我们的案例合作伙伴阿尔斯特野生动物信托基金合作监测动物数量，并参与将调查结果转化为基于证据的政策沟通。

Predator-prey interactions are a crucial part of functioning ecosystems, and carnivores can structure ecosystems by affecting species at lower trophic levels (Suraci et al. 2016). Independent of the direct killing of prey, the presence of predators alone can create a "landscape of fear" affecting species at multiple lower trophic levels. The perceived predation risk that the presence of predators causes in other animals is an important ecosystem service critical to conserving biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (Smith et al. 2017). However, in many ecosystems large carnivores have often been replaced by a "super predator", i.e. humans, which create a "landscape of fear" for carnivores. Often humans elicit this fear by activities emitting anthropogenic noise into the soundscapes of ecosystems. Thus, anthropogenic noise can create a "landscape of fear" for predators, which may change affect trophic interactions. The aim of the project is to quantify how changes in the landscape of fear triggered by anthropogenic noise affects individuals and trophic interactions. We will use systematic reviews and field experiments to quantify how the presence of human affects species on different tropic level. The work will include: (1) two phylogenetically controlled meta-analyses one to assess the relationship between changes in the landscape of fear and ecosystem interactions, and another to quantify the effects of anthropogenic noise on predator-prey interactions. (2) the designing and carrying out field experiments simulating the absence/presence of humans to establish how the presence of a super predator affects species on different trophic levels, i.e. red squirrels, grey squirrels, pine marten, and fox). (3) work with our CASE partner the Ulster Wildlife Trust to monitor animal populations, and engagement to translate the findings into evidence-based policy communications.