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  • Perspective
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Why conservation biology can benefit from sensory ecology

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 4, pages 502–511 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Global expansion of human activities is associated with the introduction of novel stimuli, such as anthropogenic noise, artificial lights and chemical agents. Progress in documenting the ecological effects of sensory pollutants is weakened by sparse knowledge of the mechanisms underlying these effects. This severely limits our capacity to devise mitigation measures. Here, we integrate knowledge of animal sensory ecology, physiology and life history to articulate three perceptual mechanisms—masking, distracting and misleading—that clearly explain how and why anthropogenic sensory pollutants impact organisms. We then link these three mechanisms to ecological consequences and discuss their implications for conservation. We argue that this framework can reveal the presence of ‘sensory danger zones’, hotspots of conservation concern where sensory pollutants overlap in space and time with an organism’s activity, and foster development of strategic interventions to mitigate the impact of sensory pollutants. Future research that applies this framework will provide critical insight to preserve the natural sensory world.

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Fig. 1: Three different mechanisms underlie ecological effects of sensory pollutants.
Fig. 2: Different sensory mechanisms ask for different solutions.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Lory State Park, Colorado, USA, for hosting our workshop in October 2017 that led to this Perspective. We also acknowledge our collaborators at the National Park Service’s Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division. The work was supported by the NASA Ecological Forecasting Grant NNX17AG36G to N.H.C., J.R.B., C.D.F. and D.C.S.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Davide M. Dominoni, Wouter Halfwerk.

  2. These authors jointly supervised this work: Clinton D. Francis, Neil H. Carter, Jesse R. Barber.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Davide M. Dominoni

  2. Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Davide M. Dominoni

  3. Department of Ecological Science, Section Animal Ecology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Wouter Halfwerk

  4. Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    Emily Baird

  5. Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Rachel T. Buxton & Brett M. Seymoure

  6. Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Esteban Fernández-Juricic

  7. National Park Service, Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    Kurt M. Fristrup & Megan F. McKenna

  8. Exponent, Mechanical Engineering Practice, Denver, CO, USA

    Daniel J. Mennitt

  9. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Group, Hatfield Consultants, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Elizabeth K. Perkin

  10. Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

    David C. Stoner

  11. Department of Biology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA

    Jennifer B. Tennessen

  12. Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada

    Cory A. Toth

  13. Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY, USA

    Luke P. Tyrrell

  14. Department of Biological Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA

    Ashley Wilson & Clinton D. Francis

  15. School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Neil H. Carter

  16. Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA

    Jesse R. Barber

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  1. Davide M. Dominoni
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  2. Wouter Halfwerk
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  11. David C. Stoner
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  12. Jennifer B. Tennessen
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  15. Ashley Wilson
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  16. Clinton D. Francis
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  18. Jesse R. Barber
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All authors participated at the workshop in Colorado and actively contributed to round-table discussions. D.M.D., W.H., C.D.F., N.H.C. and J.R.B. laid out the ideas for this manuscript and discussed its content and structure. D.M.D. and W.H. contributed equally to write the initial draft of the paper. C.D.F., N.H.C. and J.R.B. contributed equally to provide feedback and editing on this initial draft. E.B., R.T.B., E.F.-J., K.M.F., M.F.M., D.J.M., E.K.P., B.M.S., D.C.S., J.B.T., C.A.T., L.P.T. and A.W. contributed to this Perspective intellectually and by providing examples and editing. All authors agreed on the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Davide M. Dominoni.

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Supplementary Table

Table with examples of the impacts of sensory pollutants categorized by sensory mechanism.

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Dominoni, D.M., Halfwerk, W., Baird, E. et al. Why conservation biology can benefit from sensory ecology. Nat Ecol Evol 4, 502–511 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1135-4

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