THE INFLUENCE OF INSECTS: BIOGENIC AND ANTHROPOGENIC CONTRIBUTORS TO ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE POLLUTION IN POPULATED AREAS

Noise pollution can contribute to stress and lead to adverse health outcomes. While noise studies in the literature focus on larger spatial scales, the work presented here focuses on residential areas within a small urban environment containing railway, highway, aircraft flight paths, and a mix of land uses. In this work, we identify spatial and temporal similarities and differences in environmental noise within the study area’s small spatial scale (approximately 4 km by 4 km). Of three seasonal campaigns showcased, spatial variation in the noise metrics was the greatest in winter, while a strong insect signal contributed significantly to noise levels in the warmer seasons. Many current noise models account for only anthropogenic sources of noise such as aircraft, train, and vehicular traffic. Thus, locations with insect habitats could have underestimated noise exposures calculated from anthropogenic-exclusive noise modeling. This work presents the various characteristics of the insect signal to inform future noise exposure estimations. Lastly, the impact on noise levels by extreme insect choruses, such as those observed during the 2024, double-brood emergence of cicadas in Missouri, will be featured.