[cobirds] Study on impact of noise on birds and seed dispersal of plants

Here is a link to an article in Audubon Magazine on some findings about the impact of noise on birds that can impact plant dispersal.  One of the researchers is Dr Cruz from CU.   The study was for pinyon pines where natural gas wells are located.

"There is a lot of evidence that the western scrub jay and the pinyon pine co-evolved," he says. "A single scrub jay in the fall, when a lot of these seeds are available, will collect and disperse hundreds, covering them under a few centimeters of soil. While they end up recovering lots of seeds, it's many of those forgotten sees that end of becoming the future of the forest."

Researchers also counted the number of pinyon pine seedlings in quiet and noisy areas. They found that seedlings were four times as abundant in quiet sites compared to noisy ones.

The study shows that manmade noise not only affects animal behavior, but may impact the future of pinyon pines."

SeEtta Moss

Canon City
Blogging for Birds and Blooms magazine @ http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/category/birding/ (new link)
Personal blog @ BirdsAndBlooms.blogspot.com

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