Impact of a noise-polluted urban environment on the song frequencies of a cosmopolitan songbird, the Great Tit (Parus major), in Denmark

Abstract

Low-frequency ambient noise is known to cause shifts in the song frequency of different species of songbirds, such as the Great Tit (Parus major). The present study was conducted to test the generality of these findings by measuring the distribution of energy across the spectrum of songs of theGreat Tit. The studied individuals were either exposed to low-frequency ambient traffic noise in an urban environment (Copenhagen, Denmark) or not exposed to such an environment (the Strodam Reserve north of Copenhagen). A trend throughout all frequency-energy quartiles illustrated that the species sang at an elevated frequency in urban environments compared to rural ones, and that both the upperand lower-frequency-energy quartiles were signifcantly higher in the former.