Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes

C. A. Morrison; A. Auniņš; Z. Benkő; L. Brotons; T. Chodkiewicz; P. Chylarecki; V. Escandell; D. P. Eskildsen; A. Gamero; S. Herrando; F. Jiguet; J. A. Kålås; J. Kamp; A. Klvaňová; P. Kmecl; A. Lehikoinen; Å. Lindström; C. Moshøj; D. G. Noble; I. J. Øien; J-Y. Paquet; J. Reif; T. Sattler; B. S. Seaman; N. Teufelbauer; S. Trautmann; C. A. M. van Turnhout; P. Vořišek; S. J. Butler

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1

Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes

C. A. Morrison
, A. Auniņš
, Z. Benkő
, L. Brotons
, T. Chodkiewicz
, P. Chylarecki
, V. Escandell
, D. P. Eskildsen
, A. Gamero
, S. Herrando
, F. Jiguet
, J. A. Kålås
, J. Kamp
, A. Klvaňová
, P. Kmecl
, A. Lehikoinen
, Å. Lindström
, C. Moshøj
, D. G. Noble
, I. J. Øien

J-Y. Paquet, J. Reif, T. Sattler, B. S. Seaman, N. Teufelbauer, S. Trautmann, C. A. M. van Turnhout, P. Vořišek, S. J. Butler

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Abstract

Natural sounds, and bird song in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature, but widespread declines in bird populations mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes may be changing. Using data-driven reconstructions of soundscapes in lieu of historical recordings, here we quantify changes in soundscape characteristics at more than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe. We integrate citizen science bird monitoring data with recordings of individual species to reveal a pervasive loss of acoustic diversity and intensity of soundscapes across both continents over the past 25 years, driven by changes in species richness and abundance. These results suggest that one of the fundamental pathways through which humans engage with nature is in chronic decline, with potentially widespread implications for human health and well-being.

Original language	English
Article number	6217
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	12
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1
Publication status	Published - 2 Nov 2021

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1Licence: CC BY

Published_VersionFinal published version, 2.28 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Morrison, C. A., Auniņš, A., Benkő, Z., Brotons, L., Chodkiewicz, T., Chylarecki, P., Escandell, V., Eskildsen, D. P., Gamero, A., Herrando, S., Jiguet, F., Kålås, J. A., Kamp, J., Klvaňová, A., Kmecl, P., Lehikoinen, A., Lindström, Å., Moshøj, C., Noble, D. G., ... Butler, S. J. (2021). Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes. Nature Communications, 12(1), Article 6217 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1

@article{207f8920c613498b984fe97963a561db,

title = "Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes",

abstract = "Natural sounds, and bird song in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature, but widespread declines in bird populations mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes may be changing. Using data-driven reconstructions of soundscapes in lieu of historical recordings, here we quantify changes in soundscape characteristics at more than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe. We integrate citizen science bird monitoring data with recordings of individual species to reveal a pervasive loss of acoustic diversity and intensity of soundscapes across both continents over the past 25 years, driven by changes in species richness and abundance. These results suggest that one of the fundamental pathways through which humans engage with nature is in chronic decline, with potentially widespread implications for human health and well-being.",

author = "Morrison, \{C. A.\} and A. Auniņ{\v s} and Z. Benk{\H o} and L. Brotons and T. Chodkiewicz and P. Chylarecki and V. Escandell and Eskildsen, \{D. P.\} and A. Gamero and S. Herrando and F. Jiguet and K{\aa}l{\aa}s, \{J. A.\} and J. Kamp and A. Klva{\v n}ov{\'a} and P. Kmecl and A. Lehikoinen and {\AA}. Lindstr{\"o}m and C. Mosh{\o}j and Noble, \{D. G.\} and {\O}ien, \{I. J.\} and J-Y. Paquet and J. Reif and T. Sattler and Seaman, \{B. S.\} and N. Teufelbauer and S. Trautmann and \{van Turnhout\}, \{C. A. M.\} and P. Vo{\v r}i{\v s}ek and Butler, \{S. J.\}",

note = "Acknowledgements: We thank the thousands of volunteer citizen-scientists who contributed to the long-term bird-monitoring programmes in North America and Europe, the institutions that manage these programmes, and those funding these activities. The Norwegian Environment Agency finances the Norwegian common breeding bird monitoring and the Swedish Bird Survey is supported by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and carried out in collaboration with all 21 regional county boards. It acts within the framework of the strategic research environment Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate (BECC). J.R. was supported by Charles University in Prague (project no. PRIMUS/17/SCI/16). We are also grateful to the many sound recorders that have submitted files to the Xeno Canto collection (www.xeno-canto.org). This work was supported by Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/T007/354/1. We thank L. Spurgin for advice on analysis; and J. Gill and J. Sauer for helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript. Soundscape reconstruction was carried out on the High-Performance Computing Cluster supported by the Research and Specialist Computing Support Service (RSCSS) at the University of East Anglia.",

year = "2021",

month = nov,

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doi = "10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1",

language = "English",

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Morrison, CA, Auniņš, A, Benkő, Z, Brotons, L, Chodkiewicz, T, Chylarecki, P, Escandell, V, Eskildsen, DP, Gamero, A, Herrando, S, Jiguet, F, Kålås, JA, Kamp, J, Klvaňová, A, Kmecl, P, Lehikoinen, A, Lindström, Å, Moshøj, C, Noble, DG, Øien, IJ, Paquet, J-Y, Reif, J, Sattler, T, Seaman, BS, Teufelbauer, N, Trautmann, S, van Turnhout, CAM, Vořišek, P & Butler, SJ 2021, 'Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes', Nature Communications, vol. 12, no. 1, 6217 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1

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T1 - Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes

AU - Morrison, C. A.

AU - Auniņš, A.

AU - Benkő, Z.

AU - Brotons, L.

AU - Chodkiewicz, T.

AU - Chylarecki, P.

AU - Escandell, V.

AU - Eskildsen, D. P.

AU - Gamero, A.

AU - Herrando, S.

AU - Jiguet, F.

AU - Kålås, J. A.

AU - Kamp, J.

AU - Klvaňová, A.

AU - Kmecl, P.

AU - Lehikoinen, A.

AU - Lindström, Å.

AU - Moshøj, C.

AU - Noble, D. G.

AU - Øien, I. J.

AU - Paquet, J-Y.

AU - Reif, J.

AU - Sattler, T.

AU - Seaman, B. S.

AU - Teufelbauer, N.

AU - Trautmann, S.

AU - van Turnhout, C. A. M.

AU - Vořišek, P.

AU - Butler, S. J.

N1 - Acknowledgements: We thank the thousands of volunteer citizen-scientists who contributed to the long-term bird-monitoring programmes in North America and Europe, the institutions that manage these programmes, and those funding these activities. The Norwegian Environment Agency finances the Norwegian common breeding bird monitoring and the Swedish Bird Survey is supported by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and carried out in collaboration with all 21 regional county boards. It acts within the framework of the strategic research environment Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate (BECC). J.R. was supported by Charles University in Prague (project no. PRIMUS/17/SCI/16). We are also grateful to the many sound recorders that have submitted files to the Xeno Canto collection (www.xeno-canto.org). This work was supported by Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/T007/354/1. We thank L. Spurgin for advice on analysis; and J. Gill and J. Sauer for helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript. Soundscape reconstruction was carried out on the High-Performance Computing Cluster supported by the Research and Specialist Computing Support Service (RSCSS) at the University of East Anglia.

PY - 2021/11/2

Y1 - 2021/11/2

N2 - Natural sounds, and bird song in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature, but widespread declines in bird populations mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes may be changing. Using data-driven reconstructions of soundscapes in lieu of historical recordings, here we quantify changes in soundscape characteristics at more than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe. We integrate citizen science bird monitoring data with recordings of individual species to reveal a pervasive loss of acoustic diversity and intensity of soundscapes across both continents over the past 25 years, driven by changes in species richness and abundance. These results suggest that one of the fundamental pathways through which humans engage with nature is in chronic decline, with potentially widespread implications for human health and well-being.

AB - Natural sounds, and bird song in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature, but widespread declines in bird populations mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes may be changing. Using data-driven reconstructions of soundscapes in lieu of historical recordings, here we quantify changes in soundscape characteristics at more than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe. We integrate citizen science bird monitoring data with recordings of individual species to reveal a pervasive loss of acoustic diversity and intensity of soundscapes across both continents over the past 25 years, driven by changes in species richness and abundance. These results suggest that one of the fundamental pathways through which humans engage with nature is in chronic decline, with potentially widespread implications for human health and well-being.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85118450636

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1

DO - 10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1

M3 - Article

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 12

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 6217

ER -

Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes

Abstract

UN SDGs

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Using population synchrony to target conservation action

Shifting Sounds in Spring

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Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes

Abstract

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Projects

Using population synchrony to target conservation action

Press/Media

Shifting Sounds in Spring

Cite this