Threatened and endangered species in southern California and their potential sensitivity to rocket noise: A project overview

The global cadence of rocket launches is increasing. This trend has understandably raised questions about the potential negative impacts the noise from these launches might have on natural resources and ecosystems. Researchers at Brigham Young University and California State University Bakersfield are currently working together on a project that attempts to answer these questions about the threatened and endangered species living at Vandenberg Space Force Base. The base is home to several species of concern including the California least tern, snowy plover, California red-legged frog, tidewater goby, and unarmored three-spined stickleback. To answer questions about these species’ sensitivity to rocket noise, continuous recordings at over 30 different locations have been taken for 9 months. These locations include areas deemed ecologically sensitive by base ecologists and are varying distances from launch pads. Already this project has yielded some anecdotal results including instances of bird vocalization stopping during launch noise as well as animal movement correlating with launch events. Presented are a detailed project overview, data collection methods, preliminary observations and results, and plans for more rigorous acoustic and statistical analysis. [Work supported by USSF through USACE.]