Effects of Traffic Noise and Road Construction Noise on Bats
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Technical Guidance for Assessment and Mitigation of the Effects of Traffic Noise and Road Construction Noise on Bats July 2016 California Department of Transportation Division of Environmental Analysis © 2016 California Department of Transportation This page left intentionally blank 1. Report No. 2. Type of Report 3. Report Phase and Edition CTHWANP-RT-15-306.04.1 Report Final 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Technical Guidance for Assessment and Mitigation of the Effects of Traffic Noise and Road Construction Noise on July 2016 Bats 6. Author(s) 7. Caltrans Project Coordinators Edward W. West, Ph.D. Bruce Rymer PE, James Henke, (Contract manager, David Buehler, PE) Amy Golden, Amy Bailey 8. Performing Organization Names and Addresses 9. Task Order No. 4 Division of Environmental Analysis California Department of Transportation 10. Contract No. 1120 N Street, MS-27 43A0306 - ICF International Sacramento CA 95814 West Ecosystems Analysis, Inc. www.dot.ca.gov/hq/env/ 11. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 12. Caltrans Functional Reviewers: California Department of Transportation Division of Environmental Analysis 1120 N Street James Henke, Amy Golden, Amy Bailey, Sacramento, CA 95814 Bruce Rymer 13. Supplementary Notes 13. External Reviewers Scott Osborn, Robynn Swan, Kevin Thomas, David Haynes, Kristin Hubbard from California Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and Joseph M. Szewczak, Ph.D. from Humboldt State University 15. Abstract The purpose of this report is to provide Department engineers, biologists, and consultants with guidance related to the effects of traffic noise and road construction noise on bats. This manual covers the sound environment, bat hearing, echolocation and communication, effects of highway noise on bats, and presents guidelines for project noise assessment and management. Literature citations and abstracts have been included in Appendix C and constitute a significant portion of this document. 16. Key Words 17. Distribution Statement 18. No. Highway traffic noise, construction noise, of pages bioacoustics, bat anatomy, masking, bat Available to the general public audiogram, bat hearing, echolocation, bat 354 roost. This page left intentionally blank TECHNICAL GUIDANCE FOR THE ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF TRAFFIC NOISE AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION NOISE ON BATS California Department of Transportation Division of Environmental Analysis 1120 N Street, Room 4301 MS27 Sacramento, CA 95814 July 2016 This document is not an official policy, standard, specification, or regulation and should not be used as such. Any statements expressed in these materials are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Caltrans. Caltrans has not independently verified the results, conclusions or claims presented herein. Its content is for informational purposes only. This information should not be used without first securing competent advice with respect to its suitability for any general or specific application. Anyone utilizing this information assumes all liability arising from such use. © 2016 California Department of Transportation For individuals with sensory disabilities, this document is available in alternate formats. For alternate format information, contact Caltrans Division of Environmental Analysis at (916) 653‐6557, TTY 711, or write to Caltrans at the above address. The California Department of Transportation. 2016. Technical Guidance for the Assessment and Mitigation of the Effects of Traffic Noise and Road Construction Noise on Bats. July. (Contract 43A0306.) Sacramento, CA. Prepared by ICF International, Sacramento, CA, and West Ecosystems Analysis, Inc., Davis, CA. Executive Summary Increasing levels of anthropogenic noise in natural, rural, and urban areas are creating new sound environments that have the potential to adversely affect many species of wildlife. Noise produced by the construction and operation of highways is of particular concern due to the large areas and diversity of wildlife it can affect, including bats. Because bats commonly roost in bridges and culverts and forage along highway rights‐of‐way, there is concern regarding how traffic noise may affect bat species. There is also concern regarding effects on bats resulting from highway construction projects, which can often create loud, potentially disturbing noise environments in areas where bats occur. The California Fish and Game Code (Section 4150) prohibits take of bats. Noise disturbance and displacement of bats from roosts or important foraging areas can potentially result in reduced survivability of individuals from increased susceptibility to predation, reduced quality of thermal and social environments, and reduced foraging efficiencies. Accordingly, bats need to be considered during the environmental review process as per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Section 15380). This report provides technical guidance for the assessment and mitigation of the effects of traffic and road construction noise on bats. Potential Effects The principal potential effects of traffic noise and highway construction on bats are acute acoustic trauma, disturbance and displacement from important food and shelter resources, and signal masking. Acoustic trauma is potentially a very serious effect because bats are fully dependent on echolocation and passive listening for both immediate and long‐term survival. They do not have the luxury of time for recovery from almost any level of hearing system damage. However, because of the multiple behavioral and physiological defensive mechanisms they have developed to prevent noise overexposure, most bats are likely effectively shielded from most trauma events that would result from highway noise. Disturbance is likely to be the most pervasive and significant effect associated with highway projects. Potential adverse effects include roost abandonment, avoidance of foraging areas, dysfunctional allocation of time and energy resources to vigilance behaviors, and degradation of physiological condition and social order. Some level of tolerance and habituation to noise does occur in some species that colonize bridges in large numbers. Signal masking can be significant if highway noise substantially interferes with information transfer during echolocation, communication, or passive listening. However, because the spectra of traffic and construction noise do not appreciably overlap with most bat echolocation calls or their hearing of them, echolocation in most species of bats is likely not affected by highway noise. Some level of masking of low frequency communication signals likely occurs within bridge roosts due to the proximity of the bats to the highways. However, it is unknown to what extent such masking interferes with communication or how effectively bats use acoustic adaptations to avoid and minimize information loss. These adaptations include elevated signal amplitude (Lombard Caltrans—Highway Noise Effects on Bats i July 2016 effect), frequency shifts (both within and between signals), increased signal length and redundancy, temporal spacing of calls between noise events, and spatial maneuvering to optimize signal transmission. If sufficient avoidance/compensatory conditions cannot be met, some bats may suffer the social consequences of miscommunication, including disconnected communication between parent and offspring, degradation of mate choice enticements, miscues on aggressive intent or alarm signals, and misaligned communication during social events such as emergence and mating. Masking of important environmental sounds, particularly those of ground dwelling insects targeted by gleaning bat species (e.g., pallid bat [Antrozous pallidus], California leaf‐nosed bat [Macrotus californicus]) can potentially occur in close proximity to highways. However, it is yet to be definitively determined that noise, specifically noise masking, is the principal causal factor as to why bats avoid highway areas. The Significance of Bat Responses to Noise Bats are highly evolved and specialized species. They are uniquely and precisely adapted to their nocturnal environment—morphologically, physiologically, and behaviorally. Creating imbalances in these adaptations through noise disturbance or trauma can potentially result in rapid and significant changes in individual and colony viability or more moderate disruptive shifts in habitat use patterns, species distribution, and community structure. Bats occupy a wide range of habitats that are precisely defined by their physical and thermal properties. These include the many surrogate crevices and thermal refuges in bridges (Erickson et al. 2003) and other highway structures. Displacement from these sites, whether temporary or long‐ term, may have significant physiological and biological costs ( e.g., exposure to predation) if similar resources are not available nearby. In terms of energy expenditure, bats operate on the edge of optimality. Foraging by flight and homeostatic maintenance of thermal balance in small bodies at night is energetically expensive. Redirecting limited energy reserves to finding new roosts, meeting higher thermoregulatory expenses in suboptimal roosts, and increased vigilance behaviors comes with costs to their ability to grow, maintain, and reproduce. A significant immediate or protracted negative balance in their energy reserves due to noise disturbance may jeopardize survival and reproductive success of both individuals and colonies. Acoustic trauma can potentially have immediate severe consequences.