Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes
(2021) In Nature Communications 12(1).- Abstract
Natural sounds, and bird song in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature, but widespread declines in bird populations mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes may be changing. Using data-driven reconstructions of soundscapes in lieu of historical recordings, here we quantify changes in soundscape characteristics at more than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe. We integrate citizen science bird monitoring data with recordings of individual species to reveal a pervasive loss of acoustic diversity and intensity of soundscapes across both continents over the past 25 years, driven by changes in species richness and abundance. These results suggest that one of the... (More)
Natural sounds, and bird song in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature, but widespread declines in bird populations mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes may be changing. Using data-driven reconstructions of soundscapes in lieu of historical recordings, here we quantify changes in soundscape characteristics at more than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe. We integrate citizen science bird monitoring data with recordings of individual species to reveal a pervasive loss of acoustic diversity and intensity of soundscapes across both continents over the past 25 years, driven by changes in species richness and abundance. These results suggest that one of the fundamental pathways through which humans engage with nature is in chronic decline, with potentially widespread implications for human health and well-being.
(Less)
- author
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Nature Communications
- volume
- 12
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 6217
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:34728617
- scopus:85118450636
- ISSN
- 2041-1723
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).
- id
- efe14107-2e2d-46d6-9309-081776552f9e
- date added to LUP
- 2021-11-22 12:01:33
- date last changed
- 2024-09-09 03:57:12
@article{efe14107-2e2d-46d6-9309-081776552f9e, abstract = {{<p>Natural sounds, and bird song in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature, but widespread declines in bird populations mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes may be changing. Using data-driven reconstructions of soundscapes in lieu of historical recordings, here we quantify changes in soundscape characteristics at more than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe. We integrate citizen science bird monitoring data with recordings of individual species to reveal a pervasive loss of acoustic diversity and intensity of soundscapes across both continents over the past 25 years, driven by changes in species richness and abundance. These results suggest that one of the fundamental pathways through which humans engage with nature is in chronic decline, with potentially widespread implications for human health and well-being.</p>}}, author = {{Morrison, C. A. and Auniņš, A. and Benkő, Z. and Brotons, L. and Chodkiewicz, T. and Chylarecki, P. and Escandell, V. and Eskildsen, D. P. and Gamero, A. and Herrando, S. and Jiguet, F. and Kålås, J. A. and Kamp, J. and Klvaňová, A. and Kmecl, P. and Lehikoinen, A. and Lindström and Moshøj, C. and Noble, D. G. and Øien, I. J. and Paquet, J. Y. and Reif, J. and Sattler, T. and Seaman, B. S. and Teufelbauer, N. and Trautmann, S. and van Turnhout, C. A.M. and Vořišek, P. and Butler, S. J.}}, issn = {{2041-1723}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{1}}, publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}}, series = {{Nature Communications}}, title = {{Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1}}, doi = {{10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1}}, volume = {{12}}, year = {{2021}}, }