Appraisal of Urban Road Traffic Noise in tier-II City(Surat City),India

Urban road traffic noise pollution has always been identified as a severe problem that affects urban populants.In developing nation,road traffic noise pollution depends on the composition of heterogeneous traffic composition.These traffic compositions contain vehicles,which have different sizes,speeds variations,a different dimension of vehicles.Environmental noise measurements have been carried out during day-time and night-time in different locations of tier-II city of India.The noise levels have been continuously measured over 24 h periods using kimo DB 300 class-2 noise level meter.The data contained in this research paper represent 768 measurement hours.All the information has been used to investigate the time patterns of the noise levels under a wide range of different conditions and to study the relationships between noise levels and traffic in urban areas.Maximum LAeq was observed 73.3 dB(A)at B_(14) location and the minimum was recorded 65.7 dB(A)at C_(3) location,which was greater than the central pollution control board(CPCB)prescribed limits during night time.A major reason for the generation of road traffic noise is due to the equal composition of 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler on the arterial road and heavy vehicles were recorded during morning peak and evening peak even though they are prohibited during peak hours.

Changes in call properties of Boana pulchella (Anura, Hylidae) in response to different noise conditions

The increasing expansion of urban areas leads to the emergence of new noisy environments that can affect animal communication.Calls play a crucial role in the mating displays of anurans,and the negative impact of anthropogenic noise-induced auditory masking has been reported in several species.We investigated the acoustic variation in 96 males(n=971 calls)of the treefrog Boana pulchella across acoustically undis-turbed sites and different noise conditions,associated with urban areas(URBAN)and roads(ROAD),in Central Argentina.We analyzed the effect of anthropogenic noise conditions on 6 temporal(call duration[CD],intercall interval,first and second note duration,internote interval,and call rate)and 3 spectral(dominant frequency of first and second note,frequency difference between them)call properties.The effects of temperature and size on acoustical variables were controlled.We observed differences in all call attributes among the noise conditions,except for intercall interval.Males exposed to URBAN and ROAD exhibited significant changes in CD,dominant frequency of the second note,and fre-quency difference between them.URBAN males had longest internote interval,while ROAD individuals displayed increased first and second note duration and call rates.Interestingly,ROAD males exhibited immediate changes in call rate in direct response to passing heavy vehicles.Our study emphasizes the impact of anthropogenic noise on the acoustic characteristics of B.pulchella calls.Understanding how animals adapt to noisy environments is crucial in mitigating the adverse effects of urbanization on their communication systems.Future investigations should explore whether the observed call adjustments are effective in avoiding or mitigating the negative consequences of anthropogenic noise on reproductive success.