Paola Garrison-Tovar; Jazmine James; Denton Shepherd, Southern Utah University
Birds use song to communicate with others in their species to defend territory and attract mates. Birds’ dawn choruses can be susceptible to anthropogenic noise, including noise pollution from airplanes. However, previous studies have focused on the effects of large airports. We will study how airports that vary in size and therefore noise pollution affect the timing of the dawn chorus and the frequency, modulation and/or amplitude of the songs of the western kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) and the western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta). Specifically, we will deploy automatic recording units at Bar 10 Ranch airstrip, Panguitch airport, Cedar City airport, Saint George airport, and Salt Lake City airport and also a control site without anthropogenic noise in the same habitat for each airport to determine the noise level at which bird communication is impacted.