Efficacy of an acoustic hailing device as an avian dispersal tool
Abstract
ABSTRACT Bird strikes are a major safety and financial concern for modern aviation. Audible stimuli are common bird dispersal techniques, but their effectiveness is limited by the saliency and relevance of the stimulus. Furthermore, high ambient sound levels present at airfields might require that effective audible stimuli rely more on total volume (i.e., exceeding physiological tolerances) than ecological relevance. Acoustic hailing devices (AHD) are capable of sound output with a narrow beam width and at volumes high enough to cause physical discomfort at long distances. We tested the effectiveness of an AHD as a dispersal tool on free‐ranging birds recognized as hazardous to aviation safety at the Savannah River Site and Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in South Carolina and Georgia, USA, respectively, between October 2013 and March 2015. Our study design included experimental trials with timed‐interval counts of birds directly before and after AHD treatment. For most species, counts of birds associated with treatment periods (use of AHD) and control periods (no use of AHD) occurred on different days. Sound treatments yielded variable success at dispersing birds. Specifically, AHD treatment was effective for dispersing vultures ( Coragyps atratus and Cathartes aura ) and gulls (Laridae), but ineffective for dispersing blackbirdsmore »
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of Georgia, Aiken, SC (United States)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center, Sandusky, OH (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Lab. (SREL)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1814614
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1378270
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FC09-07SR22506; DE‐FC09‐07SR22506
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Wildlife Society Bulletin (Online)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Wildlife Society Bulletin (Online); Journal Volume: 41; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 1938-5463
- Publisher:
- Wiley; The Wildlife Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; AHD; airport safety; bird strikes; long range acoustic device
Citation Formats
Schlichting, Peter E., Holland, Amanda E., Beasley, James C., Bryan, Albert L., Kennamer, Robert A., DeVault, Travis L., Blackwell, Bradley F., and Rhodes, Jr., Olin E. Efficacy of an acoustic hailing device as an avian dispersal tool. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1002/wsb.797.
Schlichting, Peter E., Holland, Amanda E., Beasley, James C., Bryan, Albert L., Kennamer, Robert A., DeVault, Travis L., Blackwell, Bradley F., & Rhodes, Jr., Olin E. Efficacy of an acoustic hailing device as an avian dispersal tool. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.797
Schlichting, Peter E., Holland, Amanda E., Beasley, James C., Bryan, Albert L., Kennamer, Robert A., DeVault, Travis L., Blackwell, Bradley F., and Rhodes, Jr., Olin E. Fri .
"Efficacy of an acoustic hailing device as an avian dispersal tool". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.797. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1814614.
@article{osti_1814614,
title = {Efficacy of an acoustic hailing device as an avian dispersal tool},
author = {Schlichting, Peter E. and Holland, Amanda E. and Beasley, James C. and Bryan, Albert L. and Kennamer, Robert A. and DeVault, Travis L. and Blackwell, Bradley F. and Rhodes, Jr., Olin E.},
abstractNote = {ABSTRACT Bird strikes are a major safety and financial concern for modern aviation. Audible stimuli are common bird dispersal techniques, but their effectiveness is limited by the saliency and relevance of the stimulus. Furthermore, high ambient sound levels present at airfields might require that effective audible stimuli rely more on total volume (i.e., exceeding physiological tolerances) than ecological relevance. Acoustic hailing devices (AHD) are capable of sound output with a narrow beam width and at volumes high enough to cause physical discomfort at long distances. We tested the effectiveness of an AHD as a dispersal tool on free‐ranging birds recognized as hazardous to aviation safety at the Savannah River Site and Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in South Carolina and Georgia, USA, respectively, between October 2013 and March 2015. Our study design included experimental trials with timed‐interval counts of birds directly before and after AHD treatment. For most species, counts of birds associated with treatment periods (use of AHD) and control periods (no use of AHD) occurred on different days. Sound treatments yielded variable success at dispersing birds. Specifically, AHD treatment was effective for dispersing vultures ( Coragyps atratus and Cathartes aura ) and gulls (Laridae), but ineffective for dispersing blackbirds (Icteridae), diving ducks ( Aythya spp., Bucephala spp., Oxyura spp.), and coots ( Fulica americana ). Trials were conducted in a relatively quiet environment with birds that were unhabituated to excessive noise; thus, we cannot unequivocally recommend an AHD as a universally effective avian dispersing tool. However, future research should consider AHD testing integrated with other methods, as well as investigation of treatments that might be salient to specific target species. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.},
doi = {10.1002/wsb.797},
journal = {Wildlife Society Bulletin (Online)},
number = 3,
volume = 41,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Cited by: 1 work
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Web of Science
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Non-lethal weapons and the long tail of warfare
journal, March 2009
- McNab, Robert M.; Scott, Richard L.
- Small Wars & Insurgencies, Vol. 20, Issue 1
Simulated Vessel Approaches Elicit Differential Responses from Manatees
journal, July 2007
- Miksis-Olds, Jennifer L.; Donaghay, Percy L.; Miller, James H.
- Marine Mammal Science, Vol. 23, Issue 3
A framework for managing airport grasslands and birds amidst conflicting priorities
journal, November 2012
- Blackwell, Bradley F.; Seamans, Thomas W.; Schmidt, Paige M.
- Ibis, Vol. 155, Issue 1
Use of Lethal Control to Reduce Habituation to Blank Rounds by Scavenging Birds
journal, September 2008
- Baxter, Andrew T.; Allan, John R.
- The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 72, Issue 7
Wildlife collisions with aircraft: A missing component of land-use planning for airports
journal, October 2009
- Blackwell, Bradley F.; DeVault, Travis L.; Fernández-Juricic, Esteban
- Landscape and Urban Planning, Vol. 93, Issue 1
Impact assessment research: use and misuse of habituation, sensitisation and tolerance in describing wildlife responses to anthropogenic stimuli
journal, December 2009
- Bejder, L.; Samuels, A.; Whitehead, H.
- Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol. 395
Habitat-related differences in the frequency selectivity of auditory filters in songbirds
journal, December 2009
- Henry, Kenneth S.; Lucas, Jeffrey R.
- Functional Ecology, Vol. 24, Issue 3
Testing the efficacy of deterring systems in two gull species
journal, April 2008
- Soldatini, Cecilia; Albores-Barajas, Yuri Vladimir; Torricelli, Patrizia
- Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Vol. 110, Issue 3-4
A sonic net excludes birds from an airfield: implications for reducing bird strike and crop losses
journal, March 2016
- Swaddle, John P.; Moseley, Dana L.; Hinders, Mark K.
- Ecological Applications, Vol. 26, Issue 2
Interspecific variation in wildlife hazards to aircraft: Implications for airport wildlife management
journal, October 2011
- DeVault, Travis L.; Belant, Jerrold L.; Blackwell, Bradley F.
- Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 35, Issue 4
Responses of Black Vultures to Roost Dispersal in Radford, Virginia
journal, January 2006
- Avery, Michael, L.; Humphrey, John, S.; Tillman, Eric, A.
- Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference, Vol. 22
Comparative Effectiveness of Avitrol, Exploders, and Hawk-Kites in Reducing Blackbird Damage to Corn
journal, January 1984
- Conover, Michael R.
- The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 48, Issue 1
Efficacy of a radar-activated on-demand system for deterring waterfowl from oil sands tailings ponds: On-demand waterfowl deterrence at tailings ponds
journal, December 2005
- Ronconi, Robert A.; Cassady St. Clair, Colleen
- Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 43, Issue 1
Identification of off airport interspecific avian hazards to aircraft: Avian Hazards Beyond Airport Boundaries
journal, February 2016
- DeVault, Travis L.; Blackwell, Bradley F.; Seamans, Thomas W.
- The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 80, Issue 4
Methyl anthranilate aerosol for dispersing birds from the flight lines at Homestead Air Reserve Station
journal, January 2002
- Engeman, Richard M.; Peterla, Jeffrey; Constantin, Bernice
- International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, Vol. 49, Issue 2-3
Vocally correlated seasonal auditory variation in the house sparrow (Passer domesticus)
journal, November 2009
- Henry, K. S.; Lucas, J. R.
- Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol. 212, Issue 23
Evaluation of a radar-activated, demand-performance bird hazing system
journal, April 2000
- Stevens, Gwen R.; Rogue, Jamie; Weber, Richard
- International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, Vol. 45, Issue 3-4