Date of Award
Spring 4-1-2017
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
First Advisor
Alexander Cruz
Second Advisor
Robert P. Guralnick
Third Advisor
Clinton D. Francis
Fourth Advisor
Chris A. Lowry
Fifth Advisor
Rebecca J. Safran
Abstract
The presence of human caused noise is now virtually inescapable, making characterization of its impact on wildlife critical. I examined the effects of noise from natural gas extraction on a community of birds in a piñon-juniper woodland, using a large-scale field system. Noise can impact behaviors related to territory defense, and with a song playback experiment, I found that birds in loud areas have subdued responses to conspecific territory intruders. Developing and installing a system of 240 nest boxes throughout a gradient of noise uncovered that two species, the ash-throated flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens), and mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides), display a negative occupancy response with increased noise levels. Western bluebird, Sialia mexicana, displayed noise tolerance. Importantly, the negative occupancy trends with noise were as strong or stronger than the effect of canopy cover percentage, a known factor driving habitat use in these species. Finally, I look at how relationships between hatching success, nestling development and stress hormones could be driven by noise exposure. I find that baseline stress hormones are lower for birds nesting in noisy habitats. Based on research from psychology this trend of ‘hypocorticism’, suggests that noise acts as a chronic psychological stressor in birds. Importantly, noise also has negative effects on nestling development and hatching success, which suggests that low levels of stress hormones could also indicate low quality habitats. In summary, my dissertation provides strong evidence that anthropogenic noise drives negative population consequences in birds and informs ecological theory, conservation and management
Recommended Citation
Kleist, Nathan John, "The Costs of Anthropogenic Noise on a Community of Birds in a Piñon-Juniper Woodland" (2017). Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering Graduate Theses & Dissertations. 144.
https://scholar.colorado.edu/ecen_gradetds/144
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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons