Road exposure and the detectability of birds in field surveys

Cooke, Sophia C.; Balmford, Andrew; Johnston, Alison; Massimino, Dario; Newson, Stuart E.; Donald, Paul F.

doi:10.1111/ibi.12787

Title: Road exposure and the detectability of birds in field surveys

Journal Article · 07 November 2019 · IBIS

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12787 · OSTI ID:1573837

Cooke, Sophia C. ^[1]; Balmford, Andrew ^[1]; Johnston, Alison ^[2]; Massimino, Dario ^[3]; Newson, Stuart E. ^[3]; Donald, Paul F. ^[4]

Department of Zoology University of Cambridge The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK
Department of Zoology University of Cambridge The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Cornell University 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca NY 14850 USA
British Trust for Ornithology The Nunnery Thetford Norfolk IP24 2PU UK
Department of Zoology University of Cambridge The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK, BirdLife International The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK

Road ecology, the study of the impacts of roads and their traffic on wildlife, including birds, is a rapidly growing field, with research showing effects on local avian population densities up to several kilometres from a road. However, in most studies, the effects of roads on the detectability of birds by surveyors are not accounted for. This could be a significant source of error in estimates of the impacts of roads on birds and could also affect other studies of bird populations. Using road density, traffic volume and bird count data from across Great Britain, we assess the relationships between roads and detectability of a range of bird species. Of 51 species analysed, the detectability of 36 was significantly associated with road exposure, in most cases inversely. Across the range of road exposure recorded for each species, the mean positive change in detectability was 52% and the mean negative change was 36%, with the strongest negative associations found in smaller‐bodied species and those for which aural cues are more important in detection. These associations between road exposure and detectability could be caused by a reduction in surveyors’ abilities to hear birds or by changes in birds’ behaviour, making them harder or easier to detect. We suggest that future studies of the impacts of roads on populations of birds or other taxa, and other studies using survey data from road‐exposed areas, should account for the potential impacts of roads on detectability.

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Cite

Export

Save

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

OSTI ID:: 1573837

Journal Information:: IBIS, Journal Name: IBIS Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 162; ISSN 0019-1019

Publisher:: Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

References (58)

Power lines, roads, and avian nest survival: effects on predator identity and predation intensity DeGregorio, Brett A.; Weatherhead, Patrick J.; Sperry, Jinelle H. Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 4, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1049	journal	March 2014
Observer aging and long-term avian survey data quality Farmer, Robert G.; Leonard, Marty L.; Mills Flemming, Joanna E. Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 4, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1101	journal	May 2014
Effects of ambient noise on detectability and localization of avian songs and tones by observers in grasslands Koper, Nicola; Leston, Lionel; Baker, Tyne M. Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1847	journal	December 2015
Detection and discrimination of natural calls in masking noise by birds: estimating the active space of a signal Lohr, Bernard; Wright, Timothy F.; Dooling, Robert J. Animal Behaviour, Vol. 65, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2003.2093	journal	April 2003
How do roads affect the habitat use of an assemblage of scavenging raptors? Lambertucci, Sergio A.; Speziale, Karina L.; Rogers, Thomas E. Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol. 18, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9573-3	journal	January 2009
Birds on roadside verges and the effect of mowing on frequency and distribution Laursen, Karsten Biological Conservation, Vol. 20, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(81)90061-6	journal	May 1981
The effects of traffic on the density of breeding birds in Dutch agricultural grasslands Reijnen, Rien; Foppen, Ruud; Meeuwsen, Henk Biological Conservation, Vol. 75, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(95)00074-7	journal	January 1996
Use of roadsides by diurnal raptors in agricultural landscapes Meunier, Francis D.; Verheyden, Christophe; Jouventin, Pierre Biological Conservation, Vol. 92, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(99)00094-4	journal	March 2000
Reduced bird occurrence in pine forest fragments associated with road proximity in a Mediterranean agricultural area Brotons, L. Landscape and Urban Planning, Vol. 57, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(01)00191-8	journal	November 2001
Ecological and evolutionary traps Schlaepfer, Martin A.; Runge, Michael C.; Sherman, Paul W. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 17, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(02)02580-6	journal	October 2002
Bird communities of highway verges: Influence of adjacent habitat and roadside management Meunier, Francis D.; Verheyden, Christophe; Jouventin, Pierre Acta Oecologica, Vol. 20, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1146-609X(99)80010-1	journal	January 1999
Effects of traffic noise on paserine populations in Mediterranean wooded pastures Peris, S. J.; Pescador, M. Applied Acoustics, Vol. 65, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2003.10.005	journal	April 2004
Threshold distances to nearby cities and roads influence the bird community of a mosaic landscape Palomino, D.; Carrascal, L. M. Biological Conservation, Vol. 140, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.07.029	journal	November 2007
The impacts of roads and other infrastructure on mammal and bird populations: A meta-analysis Benítez-López, Ana; Alkemade, Rob; Verweij, Pita A. Biological Conservation, Vol. 143, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2010.02.009	journal	June 2010
Highways as flyways: Time and energy optimization in migratory Levant Sparrowhawk Yosef, R. Journal of Arid Environments, Vol. 73, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.08.005	journal	January 2009
From roadkill to road ecology: A review of the ecological effects of roads Coffin, Alisa W. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 15, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2006.11.006	journal	September 2007
Can roads, railways and related structures have positive effects on birds? – A review Morelli, Federico; Beim, Michał; Jerzak, Leszek Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Vol. 30 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2014.05.006	journal	July 2014
Birds sing at a higher pitch in urban noise Slabbekoorn, Hans; Peet, Margriet Nature, Vol. 424, Issue 6946 https://doi.org/10.1038/424267a	journal	July 2003
The impact of roads on birds: Does song frequency play a role in determining susceptibility to noise pollution? Rheindt, Frank E. Journal f?r Ornithologie, Vol. 144, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0361.2003.03004.x	journal	July 2003
Defining Forest Fragmentation by Corridor Width: The Influence of Narrow Forest-Dividing Corridors on Forest-Nesting Birds in Southern New Jersey Rich, Adam C.; Dobkin, David S.; Niles, Lawrence J. Conservation Biology, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08041109.x	journal	December 1994
Effects of Roads on Movements by Understory Birds in Mixed-Species Flocks in Central Amazonian Brazil Develey, Pedro F.; Stouffer, Philip C. Conservation Biology, Vol. 15, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.00170.x	journal	October 2001
A phantom road experiment reveals traffic noise is an invisible source of habitat degradation Ware, Heidi E.; McClure, Christopher J. W.; Carlisle, Jay D. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, Issue 39 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1504710112	journal	August 2015
The effect of observer experience on English Breeding Bird Survey population trends Eglington, Sarah M.; Davis, Sarah E.; Joys, Andrew C. Bird Study, Vol. 57, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1080/00063650903440648	journal	May 2010
Species traits explain variation in detectability of UK birds Johnston, Alison; Newson, Stuart E.; Risely, Kate Bird Study, Vol. 61, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2014.941787	journal	July 2014
The Role of Body Size, Phylogeny, and Ambient Noise in the Evolution of Bird Song Ryan, Michael J.; Brenowitz, Eliot A. The American Naturalist, Vol. 126, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/284398	journal	July 1985
Associations of Song Properties with Habitats for Territorial Oscine Birds of Eastern North America Wiley, R. Haven The American Naturalist, Vol. 138, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1086/285263	journal	October 1991
Ambient noise and the design of begging signals Leonard, Marty L.; Horn, Andrew G. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 272, Issue 1563 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2004.3021	journal	March 2005
Bird song and anthropogenic noise: vocal constraints may explain why birds sing higher-frequency songs in cities Nemeth, Erwin; Pieretti, Nadia; Zollinger, Sue Anne Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 280, Issue 1754 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.2798	journal	March 2013
Artificial light at night advances avian reproductive physiology Dominoni, Davide; Quetting, Michael; Partecke, Jesko Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 280, Issue 1756 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.3017	journal	April 2013
An experimental investigation into the effects of traffic noise on distributions of birds: avoiding the phantom road McClure, Christopher J. W.; Ware, Heidi E.; Carlisle, Jay Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 280, Issue 1773 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2290	journal	December 2013
Noise from a phantom road experiment alters the age structure of a community of migrating birds McClure, C. J. W.; Ware, H. E.; Carlisle, J. D. Animal Conservation, Vol. 20, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12302	journal	August 2016
Incorporating Covariates into Standard Line Transect Analyses Marques, Fernanda F. C.; Buckland, Stephen T. Biometrics, Vol. 59, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0006-341X.2003.00107.x	journal	December 2003
The impact of environmental noise on song amplitude in a territorial bird Brumm, Henrik Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 73, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-8790.2004.00814.x	journal	May 2004
Lean birds in the city: body size and condition of house sparrows along the urbanization gradient Liker, A.; Papp, Z.; Bókony, V. Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 77, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2008.01402.x	journal	July 2008
Chronic industrial noise affects pairing success and age structure of ovenbirds Seiurus aurocapilla: Chronic noise and ovenbird pairing success Habib, Lucas; Bayne, Erin M.; Boutin, Stan Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 44, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01234.x	journal	September 2006
Use of distance sampling to improve estimates of national population sizes for common and widespread breeding birds in the UK Newson, Stuart E.; Evans, Karl L.; Noble, David G. Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 45, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01480.x	journal	October 2008
Factors affecting the permeability of transportation and riparian corridors to the movements of songbirds in an urban landscape Tremblay, Marie A.; St. Clair, Colleen C. Journal of Applied Ecology https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01717.x	journal	October 2009
Negative impact of traffic noise on avian reproductive success: Traffic noise and avian reproductive success Halfwerk, Wouter; Holleman, Leonard J. M.; Lessells, CKate. M. Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 48, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01914.x	journal	December 2010
Birdsong and anthropogenic noise: implications and applications for conservation Slabbekoorn, Hans; Ripmeester, Erwin A. P. Molecular Ecology, Vol. 17, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03487.x	journal	January 2008
Effects of Road Clearings on Movement Patterns of Understory Rainforest Birds in Central Amazonia Laurance, Susan G. W.; Stouffer, Philip C.; Laurance, William F. Conservation Biology, Vol. 18, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.00268.x	journal	August 2004
Effect of Weekend Road Traffic on the Use of Space by Raptors Bautista, Luis M.; GarcÍA, JesÚS T.; Calmaestra, Ricardo G. Conservation Biology, Vol. 18, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.00499.x	journal	June 2004
Effects of Road Networks on Bird Populations: Effects of Roads on Birds Kociolek, A. V.; Clevenger, A. P.; St. Clair, C. C. Conservation Biology https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01635.x	journal	January 2011
Roads and Their Major Ecological Effects Forman, Richard T. T.; Alexander, Lauren E. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, Vol. 29, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.29.1.207	journal	November 1998
Effects of experimentally elevated traffic noise on nestling white-crowned sparrow stress physiology, immune function and life history Crino, O. L.; Johnson, E. E.; Blickley, J. L. Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol. 216, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.081109	journal	February 2013
Building Development and Roads: Implications for the Distribution of Stone Curlews across the Brecks Clarke, Ralph T.; Liley, Durwyn; Sharp, Joanna M. PLoS ONE, Vol. 8, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0072984	journal	August 2013
Effects of Vegetation and Background Noise on the Detection Process in Auditory Avian Point-Count Surveys Pacifici, Krishna; Simons, Theodore R.; Pollock, Kenneth H. The Auk, Vol. 125, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2008.07078	journal	July 2008
Sound attenuation in forest and roadside environments: Implications for avian point-count surveys Yip, Daniel A.; Bayne, Erin M.; Sólymos, Péter The Condor, Vol. 119, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1650/CONDOR-16-93.1	journal	February 2017
Road salts and birds: an assessment of the risk with particular emphasis on winter finch mortality Mineau, Pierre; Brownlee, Lorna J. Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 33, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2193/0091-7648(2005)33[835:RSABAA]2.0.CO;2	journal	September 2005
The Effects of Car Traffic on Breeding Bird Populations in Woodland. III. Reduction of Density in Relation to the Proximity of Main Roads Reijnen, Rien; Foppen, Ruud; Braak, Cajo Ter The Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 32, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.2307/2404428	journal	February 1995
The Effects of Car Traffic on Breeding Bird Populations in Woodland. I. Evidence of Reduced Habitat Quality for Willow Warblers (Phylloscopus trochilus) Breeding Close to a Highway Reijnen, Rien; Foppen, Ruud The Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 31, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.2307/2404601	journal	February 1994
Effects of Interstate 95 on Breeding Birds in Northern Maine Ferris, Craig R. The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 43, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.2307/3800351	journal	April 1979
Responses of Raven and Red-Tailed Hawk Populations to Linear Right-of-Ways Knight, Richard L.; Kawashima, Jack Y. The Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 57, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.2307/3809423	journal	April 1993
The importance of roads and road verges for raptors and crows in the Succulent and Nama-Karoo, South Africa Dean, Wrj; Milton, Sj Ostrich, Vol. 74, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.2989/00306520309485391	journal	September 2003
Major Roads Have a Negative Impact on the Tawny Owl Strix aluco and the Little Owl Athene noctua Populations Silva, Clara C.; Lourenço, Rui; Godinho, Sérgio Acta Ornithologica, Vol. 47, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3161/000164512X653917	journal	June 2012
Bird Casualties on European Roads — A Review Erritzoe, Johannes; Mazgajski, Tomasz D.; Rejt, Łukasz Acta Ornithologica, Vol. 38, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3161/068.038.0204	journal	December 2003
Road Effect on the Breeding Success and Nest Characteristics of the Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) Yamac, Elif; Kirazli, Cihan Ekoloji, Vol. 21, Issue 83 https://doi.org/10.5053/ekoloji.2012.831	journal	June 2012
Impacts of Traffic Noise and Traffic Volume on Birds of Roadside Habitats Parris, Kirsten M.; Schneider, Angela Ecology and Society, Vol. 14, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02761-140129	journal	January 2009
Effects of Roads on Animal Abundance: an Empirical Review and Synthesis Fahrig, Lenore; Rytwinski, Trina Ecology and Society, Vol. 14, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02815-140121	journal	January 2009

Similar Records

Utilizing high-resolution genetic markers to track population-level exposure of migratory birds to renewable energy development

Journal Article · 2023 · PLOS Sustainability and Transformation · OSTI ID:2263516

Harrigan, Ryan J.; Rajbhandary, Jasmine; Bossu, Christen; +7 more

Competition between West Indian anoles and birds

Journal Article · 1982 · Am. Nat.; (United States) · OSTI ID:6043651

Waide, R B; Reagan, D P

Passive Acoustic Monitoring Provides Insights Into Avian Use of Energycane Cropping Systems in Southern Florida

Journal Article · 2025 · Birds · OSTI ID:3005211

Walston, Leroy J.; Cacho, Jules F; Lesmes-Vesga, Richardo; +5 more

Title: Road exposure and the detectability of birds in field surveys

Citation Formats

References (58)

Similar Records

Related Subjects