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; 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
, 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^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Ecology

University of East Anglia
Latvian Ornithological Society
Romanian Ornithological Society/BirdLife Romania
Babes-Bolyai University
Forest Technology Centre of Catalonia
Cerdanyola del Vallès
CSIC
Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (OTOP)
Sociedad Española de Ornitología (SEO/BirdLife)
BirdLife Denmark
European Bird Census Council-Czech Society for Ornithology
Natural History Museum of Barcelona
UMR7204 MNHN-CNRS-SU
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
University of Göttingen
Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten (DDA)
DOPPS - BirdLife Slovenia
University of Helsinki
Lund University
British Trust for Ornithology
NOF-BirdLife Norway
Natagora
Charles University
Palacký University Olomouc
Swiss Ornithological Institute
BirdLife Österreich
SOVON Vogelonderzoek Nederland
Radboud University Nijmegen

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

55 Citations (Scopus)

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 - 1 Dec 2021

UN SDGs

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

SDG 15 Life on Land

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10.1038/s41467-021-26488-1

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, 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

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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.",

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

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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, Moshøj, C, Noble, DG, Øien, IJ, Paquet, JY, 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,

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.

PY - 2021/12/1

Y1 - 2021/12/1

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

C2 - 34728617

AN - SCOPUS:85118450636

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

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