Eastern bluebird cognitive performance is resilient to acute anthropogenic noise disturbance

Abstract Cognition can provide fitness advantages to animals, for example, by promoting flexibility in novel situations, including those created by anthropogenic disturbance. However, anthropogenic disturbance can also disrupt cognitive processing through stress, distraction, and other mechanisms. We used a mechanical operant conditioning device to understand how acute (48-hour) anthropogenic noise may affect Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) cognitive performance. Mated pairs were presented with the operant device, featuring an active and inactive lever, on the front of their nest box during peak nestling provisioning. Subjects were required to perch on the active (correct) lever in the presence or absence of anthropogenic noise (natural gas compressor station noise, n = 22 birds per treatment) to access nestlings. We quantified cognitive performance, various behaviors that might influence cognitive performance (motivation to feed nestlings, approach latency, exploration, and persistence), nestling condition, and eventual fledging success. There was no significant effect of acute noise on cognitive performance. However, other behaviors were influenced by noise. For example, although both sexes in the control group fed nestlings less across the two days of the experiment, females exposed to noise decreased feeding even more and males exposed to noise appeared to compensate. Birds in the silent treatment reduced approach latency over time, but birds in the noise treatment increased approach latency over time. Finally, problem-solving time significantly decreased over trials, suggesting learning occurred. Our study indicates surprising resilience to acute anthropogenic noise disturbance, although future work should consider populations from environments with different anthropogenic noise soundscapes.