Research suggests noise can rattle an ecosystem. Birds, for example, rely on their voices to woo mates, size up rivals, scrounge for dinner. Horn blasts and engine revs can scramble auditory cues. Birds try singing louder, singing at a higher frequency, singing at night. Some abandon their nests altogether. This can trigger an ecological cascade, one that extends even to vegetation; noise can scare away some birds that would normally scatter seeds.

—Ashley Powers, “Preserving the Quietest Places” in The California Sunday Magazine

More on sound and noise:

• Noise Affects Learning
• The Sound of Schools: To Catch the Light
• Anxiety and Normality: Coping with Autism