Chronic traffic noise increases food intake and alters gene expression associated with metabolism and disease in bats

Anthropogenic noise exposure has deleterious effects on the foraging ecology of many animals. However, the effects of chronic anthropogenic noise on health condition in wildlife remain largely unknown. We tested whether traffic noise exposure over multiple days would have effects on the health of Asian particoloured bats. We broadcast traffic noise to the bats of noise-exposure groups and broadcast silence files to the bats of control groups for 12 days. We compared the transcriptional profiles in brain, kidney and liver tissues between bats in noise and in silence. Our results suggest that chronic traffic noise may increase the risk of metabolic dysregulation, immune disorders, and other diseases. Management measures for reducing noise disturbance, for example, implementing sound barriers, are essential.