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Burgeoning urbanization, development and human activities have led to reduced opportunities for nature experience in quiet acoustic environments. Increasing noise affects both humans and wildlife alike. We experimentally altered human‐caused sound levels in a paired study using informational signs that encouraged quiet behaviours in week‐on, week‐off blocks on the trail system of Muir Woods National Monument, California, USA to test if the soundscape influences both wildlife and human experiences. Using continuous measurements from acoustic recording units (n = 13) spatially distributed within the park, we found signs significantly lowered sound levels by approximately 1.2 decibels (A‐weighted), thereby increasing listening area by 24% and bird availability by approximately 5.8% for every 1 decibel decrease. Visitor‐intercept surveys (n = 537) revealed that our mitigation increased the number of birds perceived by visitors, rankings of soundscape pleasantness, and importantly, preferences for soundscape management. By lowering human‐caused sound levels, we created an acoustic environment equivalent to a ~21% reduction in visitors. The positive feedback cycle we describe may lead to increased conservation support in a time when the extinction of nature experience looms. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Environmental noise is a significant public health concern, ranking among the top environmental risks to citizens’ health and quality of life. Despite extensive research on atmospheric pollution’s impact on mental health, spatial studies on noise pollution effects are lacking. This study fills this gap by exploring the association between noise pollution and depression in England, with a focus on localised patterns based on area deprivation. Depression prevalence, defined as the percentage of patients with a recorded depression diagnosis, was calculated for small areas within Cheshire and Merseyside ICS using the Quality and Outcomes Framework Indicators dataset for 2019. Strategic noise mapping for rail and road noise (Lden) was used to measure 24-h annual average noise levels, with adjustments for evening and night periods. The English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) was employed to represent neighborhood deprivation. Geographically weighted regression and generalised structural equation spatial modeling (GSESM) assessed the relationships between transportation noise, depression prevalence, and IMD at the Lower Super Output Area level. The study found that while transportation noise had a low direct effect on depression levels, it significantly mediated other factors associated with depression. Notably, GSESM showed that health deprivation and disability were strongly linked (0.62) to depression through the indirect effect of noise, especially where transportation noise exceeds 55 dB on a 24-h basis. Understanding these variations is crucial for developing noise mitigation strategies. This research offers new insights into noise, deprivation, and mental health, supporting targeted interventions to improve quality of life and address health inequalities.

The inland waters around southern Vancouver Island and northern Washington State, known as the Salish Sea, host critical habitat for endangered southern resident killer whales (SRKW). This is, however, a highly traversed area, with approaches to industrial ports and coastal cities, international shipping lanes, ferry routes, and considerable recreational vessel traffic. Vessel noise is a key threat to SRKW prosperity, and so conservation measures directed to mitigate its effects have been explored annually since 2017. Here, we describe trials undertaken in 2020, which included spatially limited slowdown zones, exclusion areas as Interim whale Sanctuary Zones (ISZs), and a lateral displacement of tug transits to increase the distance between their route and SRKW foraging areas. To assess each of the measures we first considered the level of mariner participation using data from the Automated Identification Systems (AIS), mandatory for commercial vessels. Knowing this, the changes in soundscape were examined, focused on impacts on broadband (10 Hz to 100 kHz) ambient noise and the frequencies used by SRKW for communication (500 Hz to 15 kHz) and echolocation (15 to 100 kHz). A control period of two-months prior to trial initiation was used to quantify the changes. High levels (> 80%) of compliance were found for each measure, except ISZs, where observance was low. Median reduction in speeds ranged from 0.2–3.5 knots. Resulting sound reductions were most notable in the lower frequencies, although reductions were also recorded in SRKW pertinent ranges. Tug displacement also reduced ambient noise in these frequencies, despite making up a small portion of the overall traffic. The management trials were effective in reducing potential impacts singularly and in concert. Greater awareness and stakeholder engagement may increase compliance and, therefore, the efficacy of measures in the future.

Due to the ongoing increase in the urbanization rate, people are exposed to various environmental pollutions. One of the most threatening types of these environmental pollutions is noise pollution which has increased, especially in urban areas with the development of transportation and industries. According to the World Health Organization, after air and water pollution, noise pollution is considered to be the third most serious pollution type in metropolises. In this study, noise measurements were made on a ring road passing through an urban area and is the reason why people are exposed to noise pollution in nearby settlements. According to analysis results, it was determined that plant groups absorbed the traffic noise at different levels and as the distance between the sound source and landscape plants reduced, plants absorbed more amount of sound. In the result of test measurements, it was determined that the highest amount of noise reduction in the current situation among the selected 6 reference points was 2.8 dBA. When the distance was reduced, the measurement results detected that the mitigated sound level increased to 4.6 dBA by bringing the sound source closer to the plant groups to determine the effects of distance on sound mitigation level. In light of these research results, suggestions were made related to the planting design studies to decrease the negative effects of traffic noise.

Integralni pristup unaprjeđenju gradskih otvorenih prostora i pripadajućega zvučnog okoliša važan je na razini usporednog uključivanja akustičkog motrišta u koncipiranje rješenja gradskog otvorenog prostora i na razini holistički shvaćenog fenomena zvučnog okoliša koji uključuje i nepoželjne (buku) i poželjne zvukove. Rad interpretira razvoj zaštite od buke i postojeće teorijske modele implementacije integralnog pristupa unaprjeđenju gradskih otvorenih prostora i pripadajućega zvučnog okoliša.

•Innovations for ICU soundscapes require a more balanced stance towards noise mitigation.•Indiscriminate removals of sound with single-patient ICU rooms may lead to stress ful experiences.•Sound-proofing also removes positively experienced elements of ICU soundscapes.•New sounds should be introduced to ICU rooms to provide variety for patients. The sound environment, or soundscape, of intensive care units (ICUs) can be stressful for patients. Soundscapes are defined as acoustic environments as perceived by people. Single-patient rooms mitigate noise, but may deprive patients of essential auditory cues. This might harm basic psychological needs, such as safety. Experiences, needs and emotions regarding soundscapes of single-patient ICU rooms remain unexplored. We aimed to understand how patients experienced these soundscapes. This mixed-methods, single-center study involved semi-structured interviews and questionnaires five days after ICU discharge. Patients experienced the soundscapes during their ICU stay, shared experiences in interviews, and selected one to rate on need fulfilment (with a researcher-developed questionnaire), and emotions (with a validated questionnaire). Using thematic analysis, we analyzed interview transcripts by labelling sound-related experiences, sounds, and emotions. We interviewed 26 patients. We labelled 259 sound-related experiences, 264 sounds, and 281 emotions, from which six themes emerged: Orientation through sound; Coping with disruptions; Human auditory presence; Monotony and variation; Associations and hallucinations; Communication behind closed doors. Eight patient-selected experiences involved positive emotions. Need fulfilment scores varied: scores were low for communication-related experiences, but relatively high for those involving human presence. Our findings demonstrated that experiences with single-patient ICU room soundscapes can be positive or negative. For future implementation of such rooms, three insights merit consideration: positive sounds originating from corridors may be unnecessarily removed; alarms in single-patient rooms serve key supportive functions for patients; there is a lack of accessible and appropriate auditory stimulation. We recommend that these insights are taken into consideration to ensure more positive and restorative ICU stays. In ICUs, balanced approaches that consider both positive and negative aspects of soundscapes may benefit patients in future interventions for noise mitigation. Diversifying the variety of sounds inside patient rooms could further support well-being.

Organisms use multi-modal, scale-dependent, sensory information to decipher their surroundings. This can include, for example, recognizing the presence of con- or heterospecifics, including a predatory threat, the presence and abundance of prey, or navigational cues to travel between breeding or feeding areas. Here we advocate for the use of the concept of active space to understand the extent to which an individual might be sending and receiving habitat information, describing this as the active component of their niche space. We present the use of active space as a means to understand ecological interactions, giving focus to those species whose active space is acoustically defined, in particular, cetacean species. We show how the application of estimates of active space, and changes in extent, can help better understand the potential disturbance effects of changes in the soundscape, and be a useful metric to estimate possible adverse effects even when stress responses, or behavioral or calling modifications are not obvious.

Urban noise pollution extends into aquatic environments, influencing underwater ecosystems. This study examines the effectiveness of acoustic indicators in characterizing urban underwater soundscapes using hydrophone recordings. Three indices, the Acoustic Complexity Index (ACI), Acoustic Diversity Index (ADI), and Normalized Difference Soundscape Index (NDSI), were analyzed to assess their ability to distinguish anthropogenic and natural acoustic sources. The results indicate that the ACI tracks urban noise fluctuations, particularly from vehicles and trams, while the ADI primarily reflects transient environmental interferences. The NDSI, while designed to differentiate biophony from anthropogenic noise, proves unreliable in urban underwater settings, often misclassifying noise sources. These findings highlight the limitations of traditional acoustic indices in urban aquatic environments and emphasize the need for refined methods to improve hydrophone data interpretation. Thus, this study aims to understand the acoustic indicators’ interactions with underwater urban noise, which is crucial for enhancing environmental monitoring and noise mitigation strategies.

Recreational SCUBA diving is widespread and increasing on coral reefs worldwide. Standard open-circuit SCUBA equipment is inherently noisy and, by seeking out areas of high biodiversity, divers inadvertently expose reef communities to an intrusive source of anthropogenic noise. Currently, little is known about SCUBA noise as an acoustic stressor, and there is a general lack of empirical evidence on community-level impacts of anthropogenic noise on coral reefs. Here, we conducted a playback experiment on Caribbean reefs to investigate impacts of SCUBA noise on fish communities and interspecific cooperation at ecologically important cleaning stations of the Pederson’s cleaner shrimp Ancylomenes pedersoni . When exposed to SCUBA-noise playback, the total occurrence of fishes at the cleaning stations decreased by 7%, and the community and cleaning clientele compositions were significantly altered, with 27% and 25% of monitored species being affected, respectively. Compared with ambient-sound playback, SCUBA-noise playback resulted in clients having to wait 29% longer for cleaning initiation and receiving 43% less cleaning; however, cheating, signalling, posing and time spent cleaning were not affected by SCUBA-noise playback. Our study is the first to demonstrate experimentally that SCUBA noise can have at least some negative impacts on reef organisms, confirming it as an ecologically relevant pollutant. Moreover, by establishing acoustic disturbance as a likely mechanism for known impacts of diver presence on reef animals, we also identify a potential avenue for mitigation in these valuable ecosystems.