City songbirds victims of noise

PUEBLA, Mexico, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Noise pollution reduces the presence of songbirds in cities and must be considered when analyzing urban biodiversity, Mexican and Spanish researchers say.
A study by the University of the Americas in Mexico and the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, carried out in the metropolitan area of Puebla-Cholula in Mexico, revealed green zones most affected by noise have fewer bird species, basqueresearch.com reported Monday.

Among the birds better adapted to urban conditions that are being affected by noise pollution are various species of finches, sparrows and thrushes, the researchers said.

The green spaces studied for the frequency of occurrence of 38 songbirds species included urban parks, main squares, university campuses, natural reserves close to the city and even cemeteries.
Squares and urban parks were the noisiest sites among those studied and, in turn, the ones with a small number of species, researchers said.

The next challenge is to discover what levels of noise can be tolerated by each of the species of birds inhabiting urban environments, they said.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/11/21/Study-City-songbirds-victims-of-noise/UPI-50401321913546/#ixzz1eWxCt5q1