Urban noise restricts, fragments, and lightens sleep in Australian magpies

Farley Connelly; Robin D Johnsson; Anne E Aulsebrook; Raoul A Mulder; Michelle L Hall; Alexei L Vyssotski; John A Lesku

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115484

Urban noise restricts, fragments, and lightens sleep in Australian magpies

Environ Pollut. 2020 Dec:267:115484. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115484. Epub 2020 Aug 22.

Authors

Farley Connelly¹, Robin D Johnsson², Anne E Aulsebrook³, Raoul A Mulder⁴, Michelle L Hall⁵, Alexei L Vyssotski⁶, John A Lesku⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia; School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia. Electronic address: cfarley.connelly@gmail.com.
² School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
³ School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia; School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.
⁴ School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
⁵ School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia; Bush Heritage Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, 6009, Australia.
⁶ Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, 8006, Switzerland.
⁷ School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia; Research Centre for Future Landscapes, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.

PMID: 32882458
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115484

Abstract

Urban areas are inherently noisy, and this noise can disrupt biological processes as diverse as communication, migration, and reproduction. We investigated how exposure to urban noise affects sleep, a process critical to optimal biological functioning, in Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen). Eight magpies experimentally exposed to noise in captivity for 24-h spent more time awake, and less time in non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) and REM sleep at night than under quiet conditions. Sleep was also fragmented, with more frequent interruptions by wakefulness, shorter sleep episode durations, and less intense non-REM sleep. REM sleep was particularly sensitive to urban noise. Following exposure to noise, magpies recovered lost sleep by engaging in more, and more intense, non-REM sleep. In contrast, REM sleep showed no rebound. This might indicate a long-term cost to REM sleep loss mediated by noise, or contest hypotheses regarding the functional value of this state. Overall, urban noise has extensive, disruptive impacts on sleep composition, architecture, and intensity in magpies. Future work should consider whether noise-induced sleep restriction and fragmentation have long-term consequences.

Keywords: Anthropogenic noise; Electroencephalogram; Pollution; REM sleep; Sleep homeostasis; Slow wave sleep.

MeSH terms

Australia
Noise / adverse effects
Sleep*
Sleep, REM*
Wakefulness