Abstract
ABSTRACT Increased anthropogenic-made sounds such as traffic noises contribute to acoustic pollution, which produces deleterious effect on song-vertebrates. We compared the advertisement call of Scinax nasicus (Cope, 1862) males in natural (as a reference or control, Site A) and Sites affected by traffic noises (Site B). Call structure was recorded and it was amplified in sonograms (software Raven Pro 1.5). Seven variables were measured on its advertisement call: duration (s), number of notes, number of pulses per note, maximum and minimum frequency (kHz), dominant frequency (kHz) and amplitude (dB). In addition, at each Site the background noise (the fundamental frequency, F0 and amplitude, dB) was measured. The amplitude of background noise reached higher values (68.02 dB) in Site B, while in Site A was lower (34.81 dB). Thus, the F0 in Site A was 6.28 kHz and in Site B it was 4.15 kHz. Frog call in noisy environment (Site B) were characterized by lesser duration (s) and number of pulses per note, higher maximum and dominant frequencies (kHz), lower minimum frequencies, and amplitude (dB) when compared with control environment (Site A). Our study highlights, that S. nasicus males shift their vocal structure in traffic noisy ponds, mainly by vocal “adjust” of their frequencies and amplitude to counteract masking effect. Finally, acoustic monitoring of anurans on noise environments should be considering the spatial, temporal and spectral overlap between noise and species-specific acoustic behaviour.
Highlights
Increased anthropogenic-made sounds such as traffic noises contribute to acoustic pollution, which produces deleterious effect on songvertebrates
The acoustic pollution by traffic noises, interfere with vocalizations of vertebrates, a phenomenon described as acoustic masking
The mean amplitude in Site A was lower (34.81 dB) than that recorded in Sites affected by traffic noises (Site B) (68.02 dB) (t = 7.79, df = 81.2, p < 0.05, Fig. 1 A1, B1)
Summary
Increased anthropogenic-made sounds such as traffic noises contribute to acoustic pollution, which produces deleterious effect on songvertebrates. Comparamos la vocalización de machos de Scinax nasicus (Cope, 1862) en ambientes naturales (como referencia o control, Sitio A) y sitios afectados por ruidos de tráfico (Sitio B). The transformation of natural habitats into urban areas reduces suitable habitat, and increases anthropogenic sounds such as noise from vehicle traffic (Warren et al, 2006). These habitat modifications produce alteration on vocal communications and interfere or mask social signals between animals that frequently occur near highways and where noise traffic is present (Read et al, 2014). The demographic alteration may be due to disruption or partial masking of nuptial call that alter effective transmission distance (ETD), disorienting females towards a reproduction chorus, and preventing mate attraction (Narins, 1982; Warren et al, 2006; Lengagne, 2008)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
