Anthropogenic noise reduces bird species richness
and diversity in urban parks

Periilo, A; Mazzoni, LG; Goulart, VDLR; Passos, LF; Duca, C; Young, RJ

Abstract

Anthropogenic noise is becoming more prevalent in the world and has been shown to affect many animal species, including birds. The impact of such noise was measured in Neotropical urban parks to assess how the noise affects avifauna diversity and species richness. We sampled bird species, and concurrently measured sound pressure (noise) levels (Leq, equivalent noise levels) in eight urban green areas or parks located in a large
city (Belo Horizonte) in south-eastern Brazil over a 1-year period. The diversity of sampled points was measured by means of total species richness, Fisher’s alpha and Shannon–Wiener diversity indices. Noise levels within all parks were greater than those in
natural areas. We found that an increase in noise levels and the area of open habitats surrounding sampling points were negatively related to species richness. Social factors reflecting increased urbanization, such as higher incomes, were also negatively correlated with bird species richness. However, noise was the factor that explained most of the variance. These results suggest that anthropogenic noise can have a significant negative
impact on the conservation value of urban parks for bird species.

Citation

and diversity in urban parks. Ibis, 159(3), 638-646. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12481

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 26, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Apr 3, 2017
• Publication Date: Apr 3, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jun 13, 2017
• Journal: Ibis
• Print ISSN: 0019-1019
• Electronic ISSN: 1474-919X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Volume: 159
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 638-646
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12481
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12481
• Related Public URLs: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1474-919X
• Additional Information: Funders : FAPEMIG;CAPES;CNPq