Overview of the behavioral effects of noise on animals

Abstract

Animal responses to noise vary with both the noise itself and with the condition, and especially the behavioral state, of the animal. Responses include movement away from or toward the noise source on time scales from seconds (immediate response) to minutes (changes in breathing rates of marine mammals) to months or years (abandonment or adoption of habitats); changing the frequency, duration, intensity, or rate of occurrence of vocalizations; non-response due to masking of sounds important for mate-finding, predator detection, prey detection, navigation, socialization, parent-offspring bonds, etc.; increases in stress responses; and so on. Responses are mediated by a host of condition of the receiving animal, including its behavioral state (feeding, resting/sleeping, traveling, advertising for mates, etc.), its age/sex class, its mating status, its location within its habitat, past exposure to noise, presence of conspecifics, presence of predators, and many more factors. An overview of these topics is pr...