Owls are at disadvantage in an increasingly noisy world

Latest research by Boise state university has come to the conclusion that external noise can impact hunting abilities of owls. This is the first research on the impact of sound on owls. Owls experienced 8 percent drop in hunting success per decibel increase in noise. The authors suggest that noise can be mitigated and this will make ecosystems more resilient. As resource extraction expands in to otherwise quiet areas associated noise has the potential to degrade habitat for acoustically specialised animals.

Details of the research appear in the latest issue of journal Biological Conservation.