UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., July 28 -- Pennsylvania State University issued the following news release:
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Scientists have long wondered whether loud, human-caused noise interferes with wild animals' cognition - their ability to think and learn - by causing stress, distraction or making it harder for them to focus. The results of a novel study of Eastern bluebirds conducted by a team of researchers at Penn State suggests that, at least in some cases, short-term noise doesn't affect them much.
In findings published in Behavioral Ecology, the researchers reported that bluebirds exposed to 48 hours of continuous sounds from a natural gas pipeline compressor station were able to solve a problem, learn a task and access their nes...