by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
This article in Smithsonian Magazine discusses a meta-analysis in Biology Letters documenting the adverse effects of noise pollution on animals, ranging in size from small insects to giant marine mammals.
We have recently redefined noise as unwanted and/or harmful sound. Nature is quiet, not noisy. I documented the evidence-based noise levels affecting human health and function, starting with sleep disruption at sound pressure levels as low as 30-35 A-weighted decibels*, in an recent article in Acoustics Today. I don’t think the data exist to write a similar article about specific noise levels affecting non-human animal health and function, but the definition of noise as unwanted and/or harmful sound was meant to include animals, too.
Noise pollution is ubiquitous. A quieter world will be better for most living things, including all animals and plants that depend on animals for functions like pollination and seed dissemination.
*A-weighting adjusts sound measurements to reflect the frequencies heard in human speech.
