| Abstract: | The emerging field of soundscape ecology views ecosystems in terms of biophony, geophony and anthrophony. Soundscape ecology considers the effects of sound on fauna, and this research focuses on anuran breeding lek soundscapes. The sensitivity of anuran breeding leks to acoustic disturbances makes breeding leks an important venue for a comparative soundscape study. We made long-term( 24 h) sound recordings in three representative wetlands and short-term( 30 min) recordings in ten sites in the Pannonian Biogeographical Region of Hungary and around the Hungary and Slovakia border. Long-term soundscapes of the floodplain stretch, where there is relatively minor anthrophonical disturbance, showed an obvious circadian change in sound intensities. The site with moderate sound contamination exhibited a disturbed pattern of circadian sound variation, while the site with heavy traffic noise displayed an apparently random temporal soundscape. At different amphibian breeding sites during mating season, our short-term recordings were dominated by anuran calls, bird songs and wind noises, while insect calls and rain were present to a lesser degree. Our study indicates that vehicle traffic noise is a severe imposition to the natural soundscape, and suggests that soundscape monitoring can provide a reliable and sensitive index of environmental change for both short-term and long-term periods. |
