Data from: Noise affects nest box choice of 2 competing songbird species, but not their reproduction

Anthropogenic noise levels are steadily increasing worldwide and may potentially affect many species. Short-term experimental noise exposure under field and lab conditions has revealed that noise can affect the behavior and physiology of birds. However, few studies have been able to link these short-term effects to longer-term consequences. Here, we report on 2 long-term noise exposure field experiments to assess the direct and indirect effects of noise on avian reproductive success. In one experiment, we provided 2 types of nesting sites in our study area, a nest-box with traffic noise broadcast inside, as well as a control nest-box. We found great tits (Parus major) to avoid breeding in noisy nest-boxes, in particular when they had both nest-box types available in their territory. Interestingly, we found blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) to breed more often in the noisy nest-boxes compared with the control nest-boxes. In another experiment, we randomly assigned nest-box treatments to breeding great tits after settlement and started noise exposure prior to egg laying or hatching. We found no significant effect of noise treatment on clutch size, number of fledglings, or any other life-history trait we measured. Our results show that great tits avoid breeding in noisy locations. Birds that are however forced to breed in noise, either through experimental manipulation or potentially through competitive exclusion, do not suffer from reduced reproductive success. Thus, anthropogenic noise can affect settlement behavior, but breeding inside a noisy nest-box has no reproductive consequences, at least not for great tits.

全球范围内人为噪声（anthropogenic noise）水平持续攀升，或对诸多物种产生潜在影响。野外与实验室环境下开展的短期噪声暴露实验已证实，噪声可影响鸟类的行为与生理机能。然而，鲜有研究能将这些短期效应与长期后果建立关联。我们在此报告两项长期噪声暴露野外实验，旨在探究噪声对鸟类繁殖成功率的直接与间接影响。
在第一项实验中，我们在研究区域内设置两种类型的巢箱（nest-box）：一种为内部播放交通噪声的巢箱，另一种为对照巢箱。我们发现大山雀（Parus major）会避开在噪声环境的巢箱中繁殖，尤其是当其领地内同时存在两种巢箱时。值得注意的是，与对照巢箱相比，蓝山雀（Cyanistes caeruleus）更倾向于在噪声巢箱中繁殖。
在第二项实验中，我们在大山雀定居后随机为其分配巢箱处理组，并在产卵或孵化前启动噪声暴露程序。我们未发现噪声处理对窝卵数、出飞幼鸟数量，或我们测量的其他任何生活史特征存在显著影响。
我们的研究结果表明，大山雀会避开在噪声区域繁殖。但那些因实验操控或潜在的竞争排斥而被迫在噪声环境中繁殖的个体，其繁殖成功率并未出现下降。由此可见，人为噪声可影响鸟类的定居行为，但在噪声巢箱内繁殖并不会对繁殖结果产生负面影响，至少对大山雀而言是如此。