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We work in several different systems, across biological scales, with a focus on birds, bats, insects, and people, and an interest in all biodiversity. Below is just a snapshot of a few research projects. Please check out our recent publications to see what we are up to right now. 

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An important goal of our research program is to reveal both the costs and solutions to the extensive alteration of acoustic environments by global change. We have shown via experiments in the field and lab that anthropogenic noise alters animal behaviors, distributions, community assembly, and fitness (see our review Dominoni et al. 2020, Nature Ecology and Evolution). For example, we created a “phantom road” using an array of speakers to broadcast traffic noise across a roadless landscape, directly testing the effect of noise alone on a songbird community during autumn migration. Thirty-one percent of the bird community avoided the phantom road. For individuals that stayed despite the noise, overall body condition decreased by a full standard deviation (e.g., McClure et al. 2013, Proc B; Ware et al. 2015, PNAS).

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A model of the positive changes light mitigation technology can generate for people and wildlife. We are testing the effects of several mitigation approaches (in Grand Teton, Acadia, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks), for example: changing light spectra (red lighting mitigation depicted) and decreasing intensity. Recent data indicates that bat, moth and songbird populations decline in areas illuminated by artificial lights for several years. Further, we have shown visitor experience improves under dark skies and increased biodiversity.

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Using technology to probe the sensory worlds of bats. A) Our ensonification device (8-microphone array paired with an ultrasonic emitter and high-speed camera), developed in collaboration with the phenomenal Steckel Lab at the University of Antwerp, allows measurement of bat sonar echoes reflecting off flying moths to understand the sensory information available to echolocating bats. Luna moth (Actias luna) tails produce a substantial echo. B) An ultrasonic 88-microphone array, allows quantification of a bat’s sonar beam as it attacks a tethered moth. Bats target their echolocation at posterior of the moth. In both panels, warmer colors indicate more intense sounds.

Jesse Barber
Curator of Conservation Science
Chief Conservation Scientist
American Museum of Natural History
jbarber@amnh.org

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