VOCALIZATION RESPONSE BY AVIAN SPECIES TO ROCKET LAUNCH NOISE AT VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE

Lucas K. Hall; California State University Bakersfield; lhall12@csub.edu; Emily Olivares Garnica, Megan R. McCullah-Boozer, Rachel H. Budge, Hugo J. Zepeda, Kent L. Gee, Grant W. Hart, Levi T. Moats, Alex M. Gunther, Dan Robinette, Emily Rice

Anthropogenic activities can produce varying levels of noise in wildlife habitats. For example, the space launch industry has significantly increased orbital launches over the last few years, and these launches produce high-amplitude noise. Yet, there is a lack of research assessing the avian community response to recurring launch noise. As many birds are reliant on vocalizations for critical life history strategies, the high-amplitude noise from rockets may affect the vocal ecology of birds. The objective of this study is to evaluate the vocalization response of avian species at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB), where rocket launch cadence has increased fivefold since 2000 and is expected to continue increasing. Our interdisciplinary research team consisting of wildlife ecologists and physical acousticians is working to understand avian vocalization dynamics as a function of rocket launches. To do this, we deployed Wildlife Acoustics SM4 devices across 15 locations at VSFB, and these recorded continuously from March through September in 2024 and 2025. Using these data, we will conduct preliminary analyses comparing avian vocalization characteristics before and after rocket launches. Preliminary results from this work will help guide further analyses and ultimately conservation efforts on federal lands subject to high-amplitude noise events.

Poster Session