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Title: Singing in a silent spring: Birds respond to a half-century soundscape reversion during the COVID-19 shutdown
Actions taken to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have conspicuously reduced motor vehicle traffic, potentially alleviating auditory pressures on animals that rely on sound for survival and reproduction. Here, by comparing soundscapes and songs across the San Francisco Bay Area before and during the recent statewide shutdown, we evaluated whether a common songbird responsively exploited newly emptied acoustic space. We show that noise levels in urban areas were substantially lower during the shutdown, characteristic of traffic in the mid-1950s. We also show that birds responded by producing higher performance songs at lower amplitudes, effectively maximizing communication distance and salience. These findings illustrate that behavioral traits can change rapidly in response to newly favorable conditions, indicating an inherent resilience to long-standing anthropogenic pressures such as noise pollution.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1812280
PAR ID:
10199817
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Science
Volume:
370
Issue:
6516
ISSN:
0036-8075
Page Range / eLocation ID:
p. 575-579
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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