META-ANALYSIS OF AVIAN BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSES TOAIRCRAFT NOISET.K. Kler, P. Sharma, G.S. Sekhon and R.K. AulakhAbstract Natural environments are now seriously affected by human-made noise, creating complexacousticcircumstances that are unheard of in most locations. Expansion of aero industry and increasein air trafficwhether civilian or military is accompanied by large scale noise pollution and habitat disturbances. Thepresent communication is based on meta-analysis of 47 research papers highlighting impact of aircraftnoise on avian behavior and communication related to both routine and breeding activities. Aircraft acousticshave been reported to modify behavior of 22 species of birds by changing their specific song structure,communication, population abundance, territorial defence behavior, modifications to reproductive success,impaired vocalization and predator-prey interactions. Recent studies have also uncovered additionalnegative effects of aeroplane noise on avian behavioral responses by modifying their stress reactions, foragingactivity, flight or flushing reactions and avoidance of noisy environments. The ability of birdspecies tocounteract the masking effect of noise through changes in vocal amplitude, song and call frequency, songcomponent redundancy, as well as temporal shifts to avoid noise have been revealed by comparative avianstudies conducted in noise free environment. There seems to be a big lacuna in ourunderstanding ofinfluence of aircraft noise on avian community structure, intra/inter species relationships and their preypopulations having possibilities of destabilizing effect on intertwined food webs. Detailedstudies arerequired on aircraft noise versus avian population interactions so as to come up withinterventions tomitigate their impacts on avian habitats, breeding potential and population abundance; in addition toreduction in noise levels in aviation, maneuvers to reduce noise during landings and take-offs, and tosafeguard wildlife in airport influenced areas. |