Mining noise affects loud call structures and emission patterns
of wild black-fronted titi monkeys

Duarte, M; Kaizer, M; Young, RJ; Rodrigues, M; Sousa-Lima, R

Abstract

Anthropogenic noise pollution is increasing and
can constrain acoustic communication in animals. Our aim
was to investigate if the acoustic parameters of loud calls
and their diurnal pattern in the black-fronted titi monkey
(Callicebus nigrifrons) are affected by noise produced by
mining activity in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in Brazil.
We installed two passive acoustic monitoring devices to
record sound 24 h/day, 7 days every 2 months, for a year;
one unit was close to an opencast mine and the other
2.5 km away from it. Both sites presented similar habitat
structures and were inhabited by groups of black-fronted
titi monkeys. We quantified the noise at both sites by
measuring the equivalent continuous sound level every 2
months for 1 year and quantified the emission of loud calls
by titi monkeys through visual inspection of the recordings.
The close site presented higher ambient noise levels than
the far site. The quantitative comparison of loud calls of
black-fronted titi monkeys between the two sites showed
less calling activity in the site close to the mine than in the
site further away. Approximately 20 % of the calls detected
at the site close to the mine were masked by noise from
truck traffic. Loud calls were longer at the site far from the
mine and the diurnal patterns of vocal activity differed in
the amount of calling as well as in the timing of peak
calling activity between the two sites. Our results indicate
that mining noise may constrain titi monkeys’ long-distance
vocal communication. Loud calls occupy a similar
frequency band to mining noise, and an increase in ambient
noise may be triggering black-fronted titi monkeys to
adjust their long-distance communication patterns to avoid
masking of their calls. Given that vocalizations are an
important means of social interaction in this species, there
are concerns about the impact of mining noise on populations
exposed to this human activity.

Citation

of wild black-fronted titi monkeys. Primates, 59(1), 89-97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-017-0629-4

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 15, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Sep 11, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 11, 2017
• Deposit Date: Sep 15, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 11, 2018
• Journal: Primates
• Print ISSN: 0032-8332
• Electronic ISSN: 1610-7365
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Volume: 59
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 89-97
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-017-0629-4
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10329-017-0629-4
• Related Public URLs: https://link.springer.com/journal/10329
• Additional Information: Funders : FAPEMIG; Projects : Effects of sound pollution from mining activities on wildlife