Anthropogenic noise impairs owl hunting behavior

Emerging evidence indicates that anthropogenic noise has highly detrimental impacts on natural communities; however, the effects of noise on acoustically specialized predators has received less attention. We demonstrate experimentally that natural gas compressor station noise impairs the hunting behavior of northern saw-whet owls (Aegolius acadius). We presented 31 wild-caught owls with prey inside a field-placed flight tent under acoustic...