New research suggests that baby birds face challenges in their growth, even within the confines of their eggs, due to urban noise pollution.
Until now, much of the research has pointed to noise pollution causing stress in birds and hindering their communication ability. However, a recent study published in the journal Science reveals that unhatched birds and chicks exposed to urban traffic noise experience long-term detrimental effects on their health, development, and reproductive capabilities.
Other studies have indicated that birds inhabiting airport environments might experience partial deafness due to the high levels of noise they are exposed to.
The researchers conducted an experiment in which they exposed zebra finch eggs to either silence and the soothing chirps of their species or recorded urban traffic noise for five days. They repeated the same procedure with newborn chicks, subjecting them to the sounds for up to 13 nights, with their parents not being exposed to the noise.
They observed that eggs exposed to noise pollution were nearly 20% less likely to hatch, and the chicks that did hatch were over 10% smaller and almost 15% lighter than those in a quiet environment.
The effects persisted even after the chicks were no longer exposed to the noise, with differences still evident four years later. Birds raised in a quiet early-life environment produced more than twice as many offspring as those raised with noise pollution.
