Growing up with chronic traffic noise exposure leads to transient but not long-term noise tolerance in a songbird
Data files
Dec 04, 2024 version files 38.86 KB
Abstract
Noise pollution is on the rise worldwide. An unresolved issue regarding the mitigation of noise pollution is whether and at which time scales, animals may adapt to noise pollution. Here, we tested whether continuous highway noise exposure perinatally and during juvenile development increased noise tolerance in a songbird, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia castanotis). Breeding pairs were exposed to highway noise recordings from pre-egg laying until their offspring reached subadulthood. Subsequently, offspring were tested for noise tolerance both as subadults and adults in a spatial preference test, where birds could choose to enter aviaries with different levels of highway noise. Unlike control birds that preferentially chose the quiet aviaries, noise-reared birds exhibited no spatial preferences for quiet in the first test. However, when the experimental birds were retested after two months without noise exposure, they now avoided the previously tolerated noise levels and preferred the quieter aviary. The increased noise tolerance observed directly after the release from the noise treatment was thus only transient. Growing up with chronic highway noise exposure did thus not increase subjects’ noise tolerance, meaning that at least in this songbird species, adaptation to noise pollution is unlikely to arise on a developmental time scale.
README: Growing up with chronic traffic noise exposure leads to transient but not long-term noise tolerance in a songbird
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rjdfn2zn9
Description of the data and file structure
Zebra finch pairs bred twice under either moderate or high-level 24-hour continuous highway noise playback in a crossover design. Offspring from both breeding rounds were tested once at 65 days post-hatch (with an additional group of control birds reared without any noise playback) as subadults, and again at 120 days post-hatch as young adults in a spatial preference test. In this test, the birds could choose to stay in aviaries that differed only in noise levels, tested in groups of four birds. The data provides the cumulative time spent by each group in either noise condition across tested conditions (quiet vs. quiet, moderate vs. quiet, high vs. quiet, and high vs. moderate). We also include the script used in our statistical analysis, the ESM file for detailed experimental procedures, and the ARRIVAL checklist for our experiment.
Files and variables
File: Liu_et_al__chronic_traffic_noise_exposure_and_noise_tolerance.xlsx
Description: the raw data of cumulative time spent of tested groups.
Variables
- Variable information can be found under the sheet: metainformation
File: Liu_et_al__chronic_traffic_noise_exposure_and_noise_tolerance_ESM.docx
Description: additional information for our experimental procedure.
File: Liu et al_ chronic traffic noise exposure and noise tolerance_analysis.R
Description: R script of all reported statistical analysis in the manuscript and ESM file.
Code/software
The script was used in R 3.5.2
File: Liu et al_chronic traffic noise exposure and noise tolerance_ARRIVE_checklist.pdf
Description: ARRIVE 2.0 checklists indicate specific sections of the manuscript that contain information relating to the experimental details important for interpetating results and replicating experiments.
Methods
The data was collected by screening recordings of tests in our experiment to calculate cumulative time spent of zebra finches in each aviary.