What do we know about noise impacts on birds? A systematic review focusing on acoustic methodology

Engel, Margret; Scott, Adam; Davies, William; Waddington, David; Wood, Michael; Young, Robert

Abstract

In recent years, several studies have shown how anthropogenic noise impacts wildlife. The methodologies used to quantify noise appear to influence data reliability and subsequent findings. Therefore, it is appropriate to review the robustness of acoustic measurement procedures to understand the extent to which studies can be relied upon. In 2023, the UK Acoustics Network produced “Good practice guidelines for long-term ecoacoustic monitoring in the UK”. These guidelines will be used for the methodological parametrisation of our investigation. This study quantifies the reliability of existing studies on anthropogenic noise impacts on birds without confounding factors (on an acoustic basis only) through a systematic literature review. The criteria investigated are: equipment used, calibration, frequency range and duration. Additionally, data on how birds are influenced by anthropogenic noise and the indices used were extracted to quantify and qualify noise impact. The screening of manuscripts will follow the Prisma procedure for systematic reviews, and the results will be clustered according to geographical location. This work expects to summarises how anthropogenic noise impacts birds worldwide and how the robustness of the acoustic measurements influences these results.

Citation

Engel, M., Scott, A., Davies, W., Waddington, D., Wood, M., & Young, R. (in press). What do we know about noise impacts on birds? A systematic review focusing on acoustic methodology.

• Conference Name: Acoustics 2023
• Conference Location: Winchester
• Start Date: Oct 16, 2023
• End Date: Oct 17, 2023
• Acceptance Date: Jun 6, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Oct 16, 2023
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2023
• Publisher: Institute of Acoustics
• Publisher URL: https://www.ioa.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=750