Effects of Ambient Noise on Nestling Birds.

环境或背景噪音是一个普遍的挑战，动物使用声音来寻找资源，避免捕食者和沟通。动物有适应性，以减少来自自然噪音，如风和雨的干扰。然而，他们越来越多地暴露在来自道路、机械和城市扩张的人为噪音中，这些适应措施可能无效。人类产生的噪音正在全球范围内传播和加剧，其对许多动物物种的影响已被确定为紧急保护优先事项。 越来越多的文献表明，噪音可以分散听众的注意力，掩盖或掩盖相关的声音，并提高压力水平，所有这些都可能影响生殖成功和生存。大多数关于这一主题的研究都集中在成年动物身上，但年幼的动物也可能受到噪音的影响。例如，许多物种的年轻人特别依赖声音来评估他们的环境，因为他们被限制在洞穴和巢穴中，视觉受到限制。此外，与成年动物相比，年轻动物适应噪音的能力往往不发达。然而，很少有关于噪音对自由生活的年轻动物的影响的深入研究。 我的研究计划的长期目标是了解影响鸟类亲子沟通的社会和环境因素。近年来，研究的重点是噪声对这种通信系统的影响。然而，越来越多的证据表明，噪音的影响可能远远超出了沟通的范围，并对生命早期阶段的许多方面产生影响。因此，我的短期目标是检验这一假设，即长期升高的噪音会降低饲养环境的质量，对学习、应激生理和捕食风险产生影响。 在这项研究计划中，我和我的学生将测试a）噪音是否会影响雏鸟学习如何对父母的关键信号和线索做出反应，B）噪音是否会提高应激激素，以及c）雏鸟呼唤噪音的方式是否会增加捕食风险。除了这些主要问题之外，我们还将通过测试d）噪音是否通过掩盖相关声音或通过其他方式（例如，通过分心）影响沟通来完成早期关于噪音对父母与子女沟通的影响的工作。 这项研究将是第一个研究噪音对自由生活的动物在早期发育过程中的更广泛影响的研究，因为这些动物可能特别容易受到噪音的影响。这项工作也将有助于我们了解饲养环境是否适应性地塑造行为和生理，以便动物能够更好地科普多变的环境。

Ambient or background noise is a universal challenge for animals that use sound to find resources, avoid predators, and communicate. Animals have adaptations to reduce interference from natural noise such as wind and rain. They are, however, increasingly exposed to human-generated noise from roadways, machinery and urban sprawl, where these adaptations may be ineffective. Human-generated noise is spreading and intensifying worldwide, and its potential to impact many animal species has been identified as an urgent conservation priority. A growing literature shows that noise can distract listeners, mask or cover-up relevant sounds, and raise stress levels, all with potential implications for reproductive success and survival. Most studies on this topic have focused on adult animals, but young animals may also be affected by noise. For instance, young of many species are especially reliant on sound to assess their environment because they are confined to burrows and nests, where vision is restricted. Also, the ability of young animals to adjust to noise is often underdeveloped compared to adults. Nonetheless, there are few in-depth studies of the effects of noise on young, free-living animals. The long-term objective of my research program has been to understand the social and environmental factors that influence parent-offspring communication in birds. Recently, the research has focused on the effects of noise on this communication system. Growing evidence suggests, however, that noise effects may extend well beyond communication and have impacts on many aspects of this early life stage. Therefore, my short-term objective is to test the hypothesis that chronically elevated noise degrades the quality of the rearing environment, with impacts on learning, stress physiology, and predation risk. In this research program, my students and I will test a) whether noise affects how nestlings learn to respond to key signals and cues from the parents, b) whether noise elevates stress hormones and c) whether the manner in which nestlings call in noise increases predation risk. In addition to these main questions, we will complete earlier work on the effects of noise on parent-offspring communication, by testing d) whether noise disrupts communication by masking relevant sounds or whether it affects communication in other ways, for instance, through distraction. This research will be the first to examine the broader effects of noise on free-living animals during early development when they may be especially vulnerable to its effects. The work will also contribute to our understanding of whether the rearing environment adaptively shapes behaviour and physiology, so that animals can better cope with changeable environments.