Traffic noise to blame as city birds fall off the perch

TRAFFIC noise may cause birds in urban areas to age faster, putting populations at risk.

Zebra finches were found in a study to age faster among traffic noise after flying the nest at 18 to 120 days old.

Experts believe this is because they are more sensitive to noise during the vital period in which they learn to sing.

Findings from the study could explain why birds in urban areas do not live as long as those in the countryside.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany played traffic noise through aviary speakers, then took blood samples from the

Zebra finches. They then measured the birds’ biological age using telomeres – structures on the end of DNA strands.

Telomeres are directly linked to how many times our cells can divide during their lifetime so are believed to show how rapidly animals and humans are ageing and how long they will live.

Previous studies have found city workers exposed to traffic noise also have shorter telomeres although it is unclear if the noise is responsible.

Lead author of the study Dr Adriana Dorado-Correa, from the institute, told the Frontiers in Zoology journal: ‘Our study is a first step towards identifying the causal mechanisms that may account for differences in lifespan observed between birds living in urban or rural environments.’

‘Differences in lifespan’