Animals are Affected By Human Noises, New Research Shows

New research discovers that animals are also affected by noise pollution.

Noise pollution has been one of the most talked-about forms of pollution. Whether it's noise from a passing train or from a grinder in the kitchen, disturbing noise increases stress and leaves us disoriented. Recent studies have shown that animals are also disturbed by the noise we humans make.

As development and technology expands, environmental sounds have been increased and this in fact is starting to affect animals. This form of pollution not only interferes with animal behaviors, but it also disrupts some other activities like cognition and mating.

To determine the impact traffic sounds have on the cognitive performance of animals, the researchers gave adult zebra finches tasks. Zebra finches are estrildid finch of Central Australia commonly used as pet birds.

The Birds Were Given A Series of Tasks

The simulated noise of cars driving past 20 to 30 meters away was set up, the birds were also exposed to a quiet environment. They were then given a task that is usually used to test attention. A transparent cylinder with food was laid horizontally on the ground. The researchers then monitored the behavior of the birds in trying to reach for the food. Whether they would reach in or try to go around the cylinder, and take the food from the side that was left open.

The second task involved flipping a lid to have access to food. This particular task measures the motor skills of the birds and determines if they can manipulate objects to feed. After that task, the next was associative color learning. With this exercise, different containers would be covered with varying colors, this aims to measure their ability to identify which of the containers contained food. Spatial memory was also tested, this is important for the birds to remember where to find food, boundaries of different territories, and mates.

Finally, the birds learning skills were tested. For this exercise demonstrator birds were taught how to pull out knots to gain access to food that was hidden. The researchers observed if the other birds could emulate the task. According to the report of the researchers in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, all the tasks that were tested were affected by traffic noise, except the color association.

"We weren't really sure that we would see such a strong effect," said study author Christopher Templeton, an assistant professor at Pacific University, Oregon, US. He mentioned that the birds were already used to loud noises since they lived in colonies. He was surprised that noises from car horns could distract them when they were already used to noise from their habitat.

Similar Study On Crickets

Another study observed how female Mediterranean field crickets Gryllus bimaculatus choose mates when exposed to different musical sounds. Males attempt to attract females by rubbing their wings together to create a courtship song. According to lead author Dr Adam Bent of Cambridge University, For these crickets, the song shows the immune strength of the male birds. A higher-quality song shows a stronger immune system.