THE BIRDS AND BEES

Creatures large and small are made happier by a reduction in noise

City dwellers might now be hearing sounds that can get muffled by the usual drone of traffic, construction and industry. According to the World Health Organisation, noise pollution affects more than 100-million people across Europe. In Western Europe alone, road traffic accounts for premature deaths equivalent to the loss of roughly “1.6-million healthy years of life”. Take the disturbance to human health out of the equation, and noise remains a big source of pollution for the other inhabitants of the planet as well. But how much have animals and insects in countries on lockdown really benefited from the drop in noise levels?

Birds

The most visible animals found in cities and the most vocal are the biggest beneficiaries of quieter streets and parks. The signals birds send each other through song are a means of survival. Without the ability to sing, hear and be heard, birds have a difficult time finding a mate or defending their territory from predators. Birds sing louder when they have to compete with noise pollution, which puts a strain on their bodies. The current period of quiet could mean birds might be singing more softly than usual, which would already be of huge benefit to them.

Aquatic life

According to a study published in the journal Biology Letters, noise pollution affects creatures from frogs, shrimps and fish to mammals, mussels and snakes. Bioacoustics expert Christopher

Clark says the noise from oil and gas activity, for example, is filling entire ocean basins with “one big storm of noise”. It’s known that a reduction in shipping traffic seems to make whales calmer.

With cruises suspended, oil freighter traffic impacted by an oil price crash and rig activity run by skeleton crews to curb the spread of Covid-19, marine biologists believe they’ll find a wealth of recorded sound data once they’re allowed to go back into the field. —