Effects of Urban Soundscape Characteristics on Avian Richness
Conference Year
January 2022
Abstract
The greater Burlington area is habitat to many songbird species which rely upon their vocalizations for communication. Vehicles, air traffic, and industrial noise add new frequencies and inflate the soundscape throughout the day. Increased noise and competing frequencies complicate the mating and survival of these songbirds. We recorded soundscapes at four separate sites containing differing urban characteristics gathered at 5-day intervals from June-August 2021. I predict that the soundscapes will vary across the sites in the number and frequency range of recordings and that species richness will decrease with increases in low-frequency recordings.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Nicholas Gotelli
Graduate Student Mentors
Emily Beasley
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Biological Science
Primary Research Category
Biological Sciences
Secondary Research Category
Vermont Studies
Effects of Urban Soundscape Characteristics on Avian Richness
The greater Burlington area is habitat to many songbird species which rely upon their vocalizations for communication. Vehicles, air traffic, and industrial noise add new frequencies and inflate the soundscape throughout the day. Increased noise and competing frequencies complicate the mating and survival of these songbirds. We recorded soundscapes at four separate sites containing differing urban characteristics gathered at 5-day intervals from June-August 2021. I predict that the soundscapes will vary across the sites in the number and frequency range of recordings and that species richness will decrease with increases in low-frequency recordings.