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19 The effects of aviation noise on animals have been studied extensively over the past 20 years, with much of the work being conducted by U.S. Air Force-sponsored researchers. The studies have revealed that the effects are highly species- dependent and that the degree of the effect may vary widely. Responses of animals to aircraft noise vary from almost no reaction to virtually no tolerance of the sound. The question of how adaptable animals are remains largely unanswered. Both wild and domesticated animals have been studied, although more research has centered on domesticated or laboratory animals such as rats and mice. Although noise is often defined as unwanted sound for humans, it has been suggested that it is also the same for animals. âNoiseâ is best defined as any sound that (1) causes hearing loss; (2) masks signals needed for communication, navigation, prey detection, predator avoidance, and environ- mental monitoring; (3) effects non-auditory health; (4) effects biologically significant changes in behavior; and (5) alters population, including declines in abundance, changes in dis- tribution, or reproductive failures. Although it is not possible to generalize a dose-response relationship for all wildlife and farm animals, the reader is referred to specific Tables A1 through A4 in chapter nine of Appendix A for a summary of findings of effects of aircraft noise and sonic booms. Of noteworthy reference is the National Park Serviceâs annotated bibliography on impacts of noise and overflights on wildlife (âAnnotated Bibliography . . .â 2005). It is a comprehensive annotated bibliography, with results presented in three-column format. The report also includes 76 documents divided into categories. Although it is impossi- ble to generalize or summarize the results of such a broad range of studies in this synthesis, it is clear that some reports found dramatic effects, whereas others found that other factors over- whelm the noise effects. CHAPTER NINE AVIATION NOISE EFFECTS ON WILDLIFE AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS
