Sound communication interference weighting for terrestrial animals

In epidemiological research on the effects of noise on terrestrial animals (primarily birds and mammals), Aweighted sound levels are often used for convenience.However, A-weighting is based on human loudness perception and is not well-suited for this purpose.The plan-B project explored alternatives, as assessing perceived loudness across multiple species is impractical.Two alternatives used in humans are hearing level weighting and communication interference weighting.These could also be applied for terrestrial animals.The former is a conservative approach covering all sound uses, while the latter can be easily extracted from the vast database of recorded animal communications.Different weightings were applied to two-week recordings at 40 suburban and urban locations, where traffic is the dominant noise source.The Spearman correlation between 15-minute equivalent levels with different weightings was very high.Thus, for a Europe-wide assessment, the specific weighting applied may not be critical.However, for specific locations, sources, or particular (endangered) species, the chosen weighting may affect conclusions.