Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Amphibians and Reptiles

Abstract

Anurans are highly vocal species that rely on acoustic communication for social behaviors. The advertisement (mating) calls of many anurans contain considerable energy within the predominant spectral range of traffic and other anthropogenic-noise sources. Whether and how these noise sources affect reproductive success and species viability is unclear. Data that address how anthropogenic sources affect the spatial distribution of breeding ponds, production and propagation of males’ vocal signals, and detection and discrimination of these signals by females are inconsistent. Anurans may respond to anthropogenic noise using many of the same strategies that they use to deal with biotic and abiotic noise. But there are considerable differences between species in their responses to noise, related to habitat and other variables. Interpretation of data is hampered by the small numbers of species that have been studied; moreover, experiments to date focus only on the perception of advertisement calls and do not address how other biologically important vocalizations, such as aggressive and courtship calls, might be affected by anthropogenic noise. Some species of reptiles are also vocal, but data on the effects of anthropogenic noise on reptile social behaviors are severely lacking. Extensive research is needed to determine the impact of acoustic habitat degradation on these classes of animals.