Data from: Noise pollution filters bird communities based on vocal frequency

BACKGROUND: Human-generated noise pollution now permeates natural habitats
worldwide, presenting evolutionarily novel acoustic conditions
unprecedented to most landscapes. These acoustics are not only harmful to
humans, but threaten wildlife, and especially birds, via changes to
species densities, foraging behavior, reproductive success, and
predator-prey interactions. Explanations for the negative effects of noise
on birds include the disruption of acoustic communication through
energetic masking, potentially forcing species that rely upon acoustic
communication to abandon otherwise suitable areas. However, this
hypothesis has not been adequately tested because confounding stimuli
often co-vary with noise and are difficult to separate from noise
exposure. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a natural experiment that
controls for confounding stimuli, we evaluate whether species vocal
features or urban-tolerance classification explain their responses to
noise measured through habitat use. Two data sets representing nesting and
abundance responses reveal that noise filters bird communities
nonrandomly. Signal duration and urban tolerance failed to explain
species-specific responses, but birds with low-frequency signals that are
more susceptible to masking from noise avoided noisy areas and birds with
higher pitched vocalizations remained. Signal frequency was also
negatively correlated with body mass, suggesting that larger birds may be
more sensitive to noise due to the link between body size and vocal
frequency. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that acoustic
masking by noise may be a strong selective force shaping the ecology of
birds worldwide. Larger birds with lower frequency signals may be excluded
from noisy habitat, whereas smaller species persist via transmission of
higher pitched signals. We discuss our findings as they relate to
interspecific relationships among body size, vocal amplitude and frequency
and suggest that they are immediately relevant to the global problem of
increases in noise by providing critical insight as to which species
traits influence tolerance of these novel acoustics.