Black Capped Chickadee - Anthropogenic Noise Pollution - Introduction

Introduction

    Human development, globalized transportation and the industrialization of resource harvesting all produce large amounts of anthropogenic sounds that are suspected to have negative effects on local fauna. This effect, coined noise pollution, has been a subject of increasing levels of study as several animal behaviors in both terrestrial and marine systems are thought to have been affected (Francis et al., 2009). These results suggest that increased levels of noise pollution exert pressure on vulnerable species, particularly those that heavily rely on vocal communication.  Evidence shows a correlation between elevated levels of background noise and decreased species density and reproductive success, indicating that areas of high noise likely have some detrimental effect on the local fauna (McKenna et al., 2015).  Anthropogenic noise sources, such as heavy construction or large congregations of humans, are commonplace at Umass Amherst and these factors have likely begun exerting pressure on local fauna, including the black capped chickadee.