scholarly journals Chronic Anthropogenic Noise Exposure and Songbird Hearing

2008 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 61-64
Author(s):  
J. Barber
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Transportation Networks ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
The Us ◽  
Noise Production ◽  
Noise Impacts ◽  
Human Enterprise

As human populations have increased, our impact can now be felt even in the deepest remnants of wilderness (Vitousek et al. 1997). The resource demands of the ever-increasing human enterprise are creating substantial amplification of man-made pollution, including noise production. The dominant sources of anthropogenic noise are transportation networks, development (including energy, urban and industrial) and recreational activities. These activities are increasing faster than population growth. Between 1970 and 2007 the US population increased by approximately one third whereas (http://www.census.gov/compendia/statabO traffic on US roads nearly tripled, to almost 5 trillion vehicle kilometers per year, (http://www.thwa.dot.gov /ohim.tutw/tvpage.cfm.) Similar trends in shipping noise have also been observed in marine ecosystems, as discussed in reviews of noise impacts on marine animals (e.g., Nowacek et al. 2007).

Underwater noise impact assessment and the hearing response of marine animals

2010 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 741
Author(s):  
Granger Bennett ◽  
Jim McLoughlin
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Marine Animal ◽  
Underwater Noise ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Spectral Content ◽  
Noise Impact ◽  
Noise Measurements ◽  
Human Hearing ◽  
Noise Impacts

The ability of a marine animal to hear anthropogenic (man-made) sound underwater is affected by the animal’s auditory bandwidth and its sensitivity to sound of different frequencies within that bandwidth. Auditory bandwidths for marine animals vary from species to species and may or may not coincide with, or overlap, human auditory bandwidths. For example, turtles are not able to hear some sounds that are clearly audible to humans, while dolphins can hear sounds that are beyond the range of human hearing. Therefore, underwater noise impacts assessments for marine animals need to take into account both the spectral content of the anthropogenic noise and the auditory bandwidths of the various species under consideration. This paper demonstrates how the auditory bandwidth and sensitivity of marine animals to sounds of different frequencies can affect the outcomes of impact assessments. The analysis is supported by results from underwater noise modelling and noise measurements.

scholarly journals Ecology of the Anthropocene signals hope for consciously managing the planetary ecosystem

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (28) ◽  
pp. e2024150118
Author(s):  
Clarence Lehman ◽  
Shelby Loberg ◽  
Michael Wilson ◽  
Eville Gorham
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Minimal Set ◽  
The Past ◽  
Food Species ◽  
Large Predators ◽  
Population Numbers

Human populations have grown to such an extent that our species has become a dominant force on the planet, prompting geologists to begin applying the term Anthropocene to recognize the present moment. Many approaches seek to explain the past and future of human population growth, in the form of narratives and models. Some of the most influential models have parameters that cannot be precisely known but are estimated by expert opinion. Here we apply a unified model of ecology to provide a macroscale summary of the net effects of many microscale processes, using a minimal set of parameters that can be known. Our models match estimates of historic and prehistoric global human population numbers and provide predictions that correspond to some of the more complicated current models. In addition to fitting the data well they reveal that, amidst enormous complexity in our human and prehuman past, three key ecological discontinuities have occurred in turn: 1) becoming dominant competitors of large predators rather than their prey, 2) becoming mutualists with food species rather than acting as predators upon them, and 3) changing from a regime of uncontrolled population growth to one of controlled fertility instead. All three processes have been interlinked with cultural evolution and all three ushered in developments of the Anthropocene. Understanding the trajectories that have delivered us to this stage can help guide prudent paths into the future.

Population Issues and Reproductive Politics

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rickie Solinger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Reproductive Politics ◽  
The Past ◽  
United States Today ◽  
The Us

What is the state of population growth in the United States today, and how is it affected by immigration? According to the 2010 census, the US population has grown 9.7 percent (adding about 27 million people, including about 13 million immigrants) during the past...

scholarly journals Traffic noise exposure depresses plasma corticosterone and delays offspring growth in breeding zebra finches

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Anne Zollinger ◽  
Adriana Dorado-Correa ◽  
Wolfgang Goymann ◽  
Wolfgang Forstmeier ◽  
Ulrich Knief ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Plasma Corticosterone ◽  
World Health ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Offspring Growth ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The impact of human activity on the acoustic environment is overwhelming, with anthropogenic noise reaching even remote areas of the planet. The World Health Organization has identified noise pollution as one of the leading environmental health risks in humans, and it has been linked to a myriad of short- and long-term health effects in exposed individuals. However, less is known about the health effects of anthropogenic noise exposure on animals. We investigated long- and short-term effects of traffic noise on zebra finches breeding in small communal aviaries, using a repeated measures design. Birds bred in both noise and no-noise conditions, and we measured baseline plasma glucocorticoid levels before, during and after breeding. In addition, we assayed immune function, measured reproductive success and offspring growth and compared rates of extra-pair paternity of breeding adults. Breeding birds had significantly lower baseline plasma corticosterone levels when exposed to traffic noise than when they were not exposed to noise playback. In addition, the nestlings reared during noise exposure were lighter than nestlings of the same parents when breeding in control conditions. Our results suggest that traffic noise poses a more severe hurdle to birds at more vulnerable stages of their life history, such as during reproductive events and ontogeny. While chronic exposure to traffic noise in our birds did not, by itself, prove to be a sufficient stressor to cause acute effects on health or reproductive success in exposed individuals, it did result in disruptions to normal glucocorticoid profiles and delayed offspring growth. However, animals living in urban habitats are exposed to a multitude of anthropogenic disturbances, and it is likely that even species that appear to be thriving in noisy environments may suffer cumulative effects of these multiple disturbances that may together impact their fitness in urban environments.

scholarly journals Potential Developmental and Reproductive Impacts of Triclocarban: A Scoping Review

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna R. Rochester ◽  
Ashley L. Bolden ◽  
Katherine E. Pelch ◽  
Carol F. Kwiatkowski
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Estrogenic Activity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Developmental Effects ◽  
Androgenic Activity ◽  
The Us

Triclocarban (TCC) is an antimicrobial agent used in personal care products. Although frequently studied with another antimicrobial, triclosan, it is not as well researched, and there are very few reviews of the biological activity of TCC. TCC has been shown to be a possible endocrine disruptor, acting by enhancing the activity of endogenous hormones. TCC has been banned in the US for certain applications; however, many human populations, in and outside the US, exhibit exposure to TCC. Because of the concern of the health effects of TCC, we conducted a scoping review in order to map the current body of literature on the endocrine, reproductive, and developmental effects of TCC. The aim of this scoping review was to identify possible endpoints for future systematic review and to make recommendations for future research. A search of the literature until August 2017 yielded 32 relevant studies in humans, rodents, fish, invertebrates, and in vitro. Based on the robustness of the literature in all three evidence streams (human, animal, and in vitro), we identified three endpoints for possible systematic review: estrogenic activity, androgenic activity, and offspring growth. In this review, we describe the body of evidence and make recommendations for future research.

scholarly journals Fertility control to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts: a review

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Massei ◽  
Dave Cowan
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Fertility Control ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Wildlife Diseases ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Practical Applications

As human populations grow, conflicts with wildlife increase. Concurrently, concerns about the welfare, safety and environmental impacts of conventional lethal methods of wildlife management restrict the options available for conflict mitigation. In parallel, there is increasing interest in using fertility control to manage wildlife. The present review aimed at analysing trends in research on fertility control for wildlife, illustrating developments in fertility-control technologies and delivery methods of fertility-control agents, summarising the conclusions of empirical and theoretical studies of fertility control applied at the population level and offering criteria to guide decisions regarding the suitability of fertility control to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts. The review highlighted a growing interest in fertility control for wildlife, underpinned by increasing numbers of scientific studies. Most current practical applications of fertility control for wild mammals use injectable single-dose immunocontraceptive vaccines mainly aimed at sterilising females, although many of these vaccines are not yet commercially available. One oral avian contraceptive, nicarbazin, is commercially available in some countries. Potential new methods of remote contraceptive delivery include bacterial ghosts, virus-like particles and genetically modified transmissible and non-transmissible organisms, although none of these have yet progressed to field testing. In parallel, new species-specific delivery systems have been developed. The results of population-level studies of fertility control indicated that this approach may increase survival and affect social and spatial behaviour of treated animals, although the effects are species- and context-specific. The present studies suggested that a substantial initial effort is generally required to reduce population growth if fertility control is the sole wildlife management method. However, several empirical and field studies have demonstrated that fertility control, particularly of isolated populations, can be successfully used to limit population growth and reduce human–wildlife conflicts. In parallel, there is growing recognition of the possible synergy between fertility control and disease vaccination to optimise the maintenance of herd immunity in the management of wildlife diseases. The review provides a decision tree that can be used to determine whether fertility control should be employed to resolve specific human–wildlife conflicts. These criteria encompass public consultation, considerations about animal welfare and feasibility, evaluation of population responses, costs and sustainability.

The CO2 Emissions of US Cities: Status, Dynamics, and Comparisons

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Gurney ◽  
Jianming Liang ◽  
Geoffrey Roest ◽  
Yang Song
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Absolute Difference ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
The Us ◽  
Urbanized Areas ◽  
Urban Population Growth ◽  
Us Cities

<p>Urban areas are rapidly growing and are acknowledged to dominate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to the Earth’s atmosphere. They are also emerging as centers of climate mitigation leadership and innovation. However, fundamental quantitative analysis of urban GHG emissions beyond individual city case studies remains challenging due to a lack of comprehensive, quantitative, methodologically consistent emissions data, raising barriers to both scientific and policy progress. Here we present the first such analysis across the entire US urban landscape, answering a series of fundamental questions about emissions responsibility, emissions drivers and emissions integrity. We find that urbanized areas in the U.S. account for 68.1% of total U.S. fossil fuel carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions. Were they counted as a single country, the 5 largest urban emitters in the US would rank as the 8<sup>th</sup> largest country on the planet; the top 20 US cities as the 5<sup>th</sup> largest. In contrast to their dominant overall proportion, per capita FFCO2 emissions in urbanized areas of the US are 7% less than the country as a whole, particularly for onroad gasoline emissions (-12.3%).</p><p>Contrary to previous findings, we find that emissions grow slower than urban population growth in Eastern US cities, particularly for larger urban centers. The Western US, by contrast, shows emissions growing proportionately with population. Much of the difference between Eastern versus Western cities is determined by the onroad emissions sector. This finding, in particular, suggests that “bigger is better” when considering GHG emissions and U.S. urban population growth.</p><p>Finally we find large and persistent differences between the results presented here and 57 self-reported urban inventories. The mean difference between the self-reported inventories and the analysis here is -24% (mean absolute difference: 44.3%) with the majority of self-reported values lower than quantified in this study.</p>

Twinning and the r/K Reproductive Strategy: A Critique of Rushton's Theory

1992 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Allen ◽  
A.W. Eriksson ◽  
J. Fellman ◽  
P. Parisi ◽  
S.G. Vandenberg
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Ethnic Differences ◽  
Reproductive Strategy ◽  
Reproductive Strategies ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Efficient Utilization ◽  
Mode Of Reproduction

AbstractThe theory of r selection, favoring population growth, as opposed to K selection, favoring more efficient utilization of resources, has in recent years been applied by Rushton to contrast human ethnic groups in terms of their r/K reproductive strategies, suggesting the existence of a continuum from r groups, producing many offspring but providing little parental care, to K groups, producing few offspring but providing much parental care. Rushton's theory, which is largely based on ethnic differences in twinning rates, is here critically examined. It is pointed out that twinning rate differences are not necessarily genetic in origin since various environmental factors clearly play a role, and also that twinning, as a mode of reproduction, is not necessarily an r strategy, considering the high prenatal and perinatal selection to which it has been, and still is, associated. Moreover, Rushton misinterprets a number of relevant aspects related to the biology of twinning. The claim that ethnic differences in twinning rates provide evidence for an r/K typology in human populations with respect to reproductive strategies does not appear to be warranted.

scholarly journals Human Niche Construction and Population Growth in Pre-Columbian Amazonia

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Arroyo-Kalin
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Environmental Alteration ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Research Demands ◽  
Landscape Legacies

The use of Niche Construction Theory in archaeological research demands that we establish empirically how human-constructed niches acted as legacies that shaped the selection pressures affecting past human populations. One potential approach is to examine whether human demography changed as a result of the continued use of landscapes enduringly transformed by past societies. This paper presents proxies for Amazonian population growth during the late Holocene and discusses their significance within the broader context of landscape legacies resulting from cumulative anthropic environmental alteration during pre-Columbian times.

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