• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Sunday, August 3, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Urban traffic noise causes song learning deficits in birds

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 13, 2021
in Biology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Zebra finches also suffer from a suppressed immune function due to the chronic stress

IMAGE

Credit: Sue Anne Zollinger

Traffic noise leads to inaccuracies and delays in the development of song learning in young birds. They also suffer from a suppressed immune system, which is an indicator of chronic stress. A new study by researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and colleagues shows that young zebra finches, just like children, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of noise because of its potential to interfere with learning at a critical developmental stage.

Traffic noise is a pervasive pollutant that adversely affects the health and well-being of millions of people. In addition to severe noise-induced diseases in adults, traffic noise has also been linked to learning impairments and language deficits in children. In order to analyse the causal mechanisms connecting chronic noise exposure to cognitive deficiencies, researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology with colleagues at the University of Paris Nanterre and the Manchester Metropolitan University studied the song learning and immune function of young zebra finches exposed to traffic noise. Like children, songbirds must learn their vocalizations from adult tutors during a sensitive period early in life. Under normal conditions, the songs of the finches become stable and stereotyped at an age of around 90 days, and remain the same for the rest of their adult life, a process called “crystallization”.

For the study, the researchers raised male zebra finch chicks in two groups. During their sensitive song learning period, the chicks in both groups were tutored with recorded song of adult males. In one group, the birds were additionally exposed to traffic noise that had been recorded in bird habitats close to busy roads in the city of Munich, Germany. The scientists monitored the singing activity of each male and compared their song development and learning success. Furthermore, they measured the immune responses of the chicks while they grew up.

Noise weakens immune response

The researchers found that juvenile zebra finches exposed to realistic levels of city noise had weaker immune responses than chicks from quiet nests, suggesting that noise was a source of chronic stress in these young birds. Furthermore, the birds in the noise treatment were significantly delayed in their vocal development – crystallizing their songs more than 30% later than controls, and with significantly lower accuracy in their song learning. “Our findings indicate that young songbirds, just like human children, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of noise because of its potential to interfere with learning at a critical developmental stage”, says Henrik Brumm, who led the international research project.

The results of the study suggest that traffic noise even has the potential to affect the cultural evolution of bird song since noise-induced copying errors are likely to accumulate as song passes from one bird to another. “Our paper marks a breakthrough in the study of the effects of anthropogenic noise,” Sue Anne Zollinger of the research team concludes, “it establishes bird song as an experimental paradigm for future studies on noise-related cognitive and developmental impairments, especially in regard to vocal learning deficiencies and speech development”.

###

Original publication

Henrik Brumm, Wolfgang Goymann, Sébastien Derégnaucourt, Nicole Geberzahn, Sue Anne Zollinger (2021)

Traffic noise disrupts vocal development and suppresses immune function

Science Advances 12 May 2021: Vol. 7, no. 20, eabe2405

Media Contact
Dr. Henrik Brumm
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.mpg.de/16889599/0511-orni-urban-traffic-noise-causes-song-learning-deficits-in-birds-154562-x

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe2405

Tags: BiodiversityBiologyImmunology/Allergies/Asthma
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

CK2–PRC2 Signal Drives Plant Cold Memory Epigenetics

August 2, 2025
blank

AI-Driven Protein Design Advances T-Cell Immunotherapy Breakthroughs

August 1, 2025

Melanthiaceae Genomes Reveal Giant Genome Evolution Secrets

August 1, 2025

“Shore Wars: New Study Tackles Oyster-Mangrove Conflicts to Boost Coastal Restoration”

August 1, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    47 shares
    Share 19 Tweet 12
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Study Reveals Beta-HPV Directly Causes Skin Cancer in Immunocompromised Individuals

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Zinc Finger Protein 683 Predicts Kidney Cancer Immunity

LONP1 Controls Mitochondrial Folding, Impacts Diabetes

Boosting Healthcare Wearables with Self-Supervised Learning

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.