As the streets of San Francisco emptied in the first month of the epidemic, the city’s male birds began to sing more softly and improve their range of sound, according to a new study published Thursday.
The paper describes in the growing body of research how animals describe – from whales to coyotes to white crown sparrows studying here – they have adapted their behavior with the COVID-19 shutdown that forced humans to return to their homes, an event. ” Called “anthropaz”
“When the city was buzzing, they sang really loud,” said Elizabeth Deriberi, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Tennessee, who led the study. Science, Told AFP.
Male White-Crown Sparrow in San Francisco. (Jennifer N. Phillips / Deriberry et al., Ecole. Evol., 2017)
But in the spring, the noise level dropped by 0 per cent as traffic jams stopped following orders for statewide shelters, he said.
Researchers found that the number of vehicles on the Golden Gate Bridge had dropped to 1954.
They compared bird data collected from previous years with recordings made at similar locations from April to May 2020, which found that the sparrow was now singing more quietly, and was able to hit much fewer notes, which in turn expanded and expanded their range. Their overall performance.
White-crowned sparrow facts. (AFP / Birdlife International)
Imagine going to a party at a friend’s house: early in the night you speak at normal volume, but you have to raise your voice as the place fills up.
“When you’re booming at a cocktail party, your voice isn’t the best,” Deriberry added, adding that it was the same for the birds.
As the noise pollution subsided, “their songs sounded even better, they sounded sexier.”
“They were better competitors, and they seemed like better mates for the female.”
Scientists were amazed at how much the volume of their songs went down – about a third.
(AFP / Birdlife International)
But despite this, the bugdale can still be heard twice as far away as the bugdale, in conjunction with the alleged reports of birds becoming more apparent to humans.
The authors said their research shows how quickly birds can adapt to changing environments, and suggests that finding long-term solutions to prevent noise pollution could yield other positive results, such as higher species diversity.
ન્સી Agency France-Press
.
