Singing through the noise: how helicopter noise affects bird song in Hawaii’s protected natural areas
Singing through the noise: how helicopter noise affects bird song in Hawaii’s protected natural areas
Human-produced noise has been shown to have negative effects on birds, including decreased breeding success, increased flushing behavior, and changes in vocalization patterns. Birds native to Hawai’i are among the most threatened in the world, and helicopter noise in Hawai’i’s forests could be another stressor native birds face in addition to disease, habitat loss, and predation by introduced species. The number of helicopter overflights in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) is one of the highest in the National Park system and they often fly over the park at very low altitudes, creating extremely loud bursts of noise in designated wilderness areas within the park. HAVO has received countless complaints about helicopter noise from residents of nearby towns—if people are so affected by the noise, how might it affect the birds who live in the same area? Can the noise impact their ability to communicate with one another? These are the questions that drove my research, which I’ll discuss in this webinar!
*Please note the difference in webinar time – 1700 SAST*
(Photo in banner image of an ʻIʻiwi (Drepanis coccinea) by Ann Tanimoto-Johnson)
Organizer
When a marine biology class inspired me to pursue the field of ecology, I honestly did not know what that meant for my career, but I was fascinated by the intricate interactions between organisms and their environment. Since then, I’ve found my career path in scientific research and have been fortunate enough to conduct work in California, French Polynesia, and Hawaii. I’ve remained focused on a central question: how are organisms influenced by changes in their environment? More specifically, how do human-caused changes influence animal behavior? The goal of my research is to help conserve our natural ecosystems, especially my favorite part of them–birds! I am proud to say that my research has been used to create an Air Tour Management Plan for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which will restrict the number of helicopter overflights over the home of many of Hawaii’s native bird species. I’m excited to continue contributing to bird conservation through my future PhD research, in which I hope to explore how noise affects ecological interactions in agricultural landscapes, with potential implications for crop pollination and pest management.