How city noise impacts bird chatter.
A Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) sings from its perch on a moss covered log.
Growing up in rural North Carolina, Dana Moseley was always curious about the chirps and trills of birds. What are they saying? Who are they talking to? After a rebellious period studying salamanders, Moseley, a professor of biology at James Madison University, now studies the impact of urban noise on bird communication.
Because birds use their song to attract mates, noise from traffic or construction can interfere with their ability to communicate and reproduce. Moseley’s research has found that some bird species disappear from noisy areas, while others change their tune, adopting a higher pitch to get their message across. It’s an exciting time to be a bioacoustician, says Moseley, who continues her research at JMU and is also a research associate with the Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center. DanaMoseley.com
This article originally appeared in the April 2022 issue.
