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The Bambi Effect
According to a report in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, local ecosystems can be influenced and even disturbed by noise pollution. Clinton Francis, of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, in Durham, North Carolina, found that the uproar of noisy gas wells that operate day and night in northwestern New Mexico woodlands drives away some wildlife species and attracts others, and also alters the overall makeup of area plant life.
Specifically, he discovered that the reshuffling of desirable birds and small mammals changed the odds of success for local plant reproduction. Hummingbird pollination, important for certain wildflowers, increased, while birds likely to spread around pine seeds without eating all of them largely gave way to seed-eating mice.
Source: Science News
