When behavioral ecologist Liz Derryberry saw a news report of coyotes crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in March, she immediately thought of her birds. For over a decade, Derryberry has studied the white-crowned sparrow and how urban noise has disrupted and
degraded the species’ ability to communicate. With most San Franciscans staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, she decided to seize an unprecedented opportunity to study how this small, scrappy songbird responded when
human noises disappeared.
“I realized we gotta do this, and we gotta do this now,” she says. By recording the species’ calls among the abandoned streets of the Bay Area in the following
months, Derryberry and colleagues have revealed that the shutdown dramatically improved the birds’ calls, both in quality and efficiency. Male birds in particular rely on their songs to defend territory and find mates.
“The songs didn’t change as much as we predicted—they changed even more,” says Derryberry, of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “It highlights just how big of an effect noise pollution has.”
The research, published today in Science, is among the first to scientifically evaluate the effects of the pandemic on urban wildlife. It also adds to a burgeoning field of research into how the barrage of human-made noise has disrupted nature, from ships drowning out whale songs to automobile traffic jamming bat sonar.
9. What purpose do the calls of the birds serve?
A. They help them locate other birds.
B. They show them the direction during flight.
C. They help the male secure their territory.
D. They assist them in finding food.
View Answer
Ans. C
10. The passage is primarily about the impact of the pandemic on ________.
A. whales
B. sparrows
C. coyotes
D. bats
View Answer
Ans. B
11. The results of Derryberry and her companion’s research were unexpected because ______.
A. The bird songs became louder and better when human noises reduced.
B. The bird songs became fewer and less audible when fewer humans watched them.
C. It revealed that birds did not change their songs or their other habits.
D. It showed that birds migrated from their original homes due to the pandemic.
View Answer
Ans. A
12. Which word does the writer use to describe the extent of research on normal pollution?
A. Disrupted
B. Improved
C. Burgeoning
D. Drowning
View Answer
Ans. C