Chronic Noise Linked to Stress and Immune Suppression in Wild Birds
“Noise does not just mess with communication either. It also stresses the birds out in a physical way, too. Chronic noise has been connected to higher stress hormone levels in these wild birds, and when those hormones stay elevated for a long time, it starts to suppress the immune system”
Summary
Chronic noise exposure in wild birds has been shown to raise plasma corticosterone levels, a key stress hormone, and this elevation is linked to reduced immune function and other physiological stress effects. Multiple studies across species report these stress and immune impacts, although a few context‑dependent experiments found limited effects. Overall, the evidence supports that chronic noise stresses birds physically and can suppress their immune systems.
Sources 56 searched
- Traffic noise exposure depresses plasma corticosterone and delays offspring growth in breeding zebra finches - PMC
Noise can also have negative non-auditory effects, in that it may act as a stressor and could increase physiological stress responses such as elevated plasma glucocorticoids, which can lead to depressed immune function and increased oxidative stress in the brain and organs of the immune system ...
- Passerine Birds Breeding under Chronic Noise Experience Reduced Fitness - PMC
The strength of our study is that it suggests direct fitness consequences of chronic noise in wild birds. Fitness is generally difficult to measure in wild populations but, by using an island population, we can be relatively sure that the birds affected by noise had not simply dispersed.
- Effects of traffic noise exposure on corticosterone, glutathione and tonic immobility in chicks of a precocial bird - PMC
Traffic noise affects behavioural and physiological aspects. These effects may be stronger when the individual is growing. We perform traffic noise play-back experiments in chicks of a precocial bird. We observe differences in corticosterone (stress) and glutathione (antioxidant) levels.
- Chronic noise exposure has context-dependent effects on stress physiology in nestling Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) - ScienceDirect
Overall, noise exposure did not alter nestling stress physiology or immune function. ... In noise, lighter nestlings had lower corticosterone levels than heavier nestlings. ... Noise may alter nestling stress physiology depending on competitive ...
- Effects of experimental chronic traffic noise exposure on adult and nestling corticosterone levels, and nestling body condition in a free-living bird - PubMed
These results highlight the potential long-term consequences of chronic noise exposure, as increased baseline corticosterone and reduced nestling body condition in noise-exposed areas may have negative, population-level consequences.
- Traffic noise disrupts vocal development and suppresses immune function | Science Advances
Second, to elucidate the mechanism underlying potential noise-related differences, we investigated whether traffic noise is a stressor to the birds and whether biomarkers for stress are related to learning success. Our data comprise trajectories of vocal development and the song learning success of zebra finches that were raised and song tutored in sound-shielded boxes, in combination with measures of their plasma corticosterone levels and stress-related changes in immune function.
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