Acoustic Communication in Noise

Environmental noise can affect acoustic communication through limiting the broadcast area, or active space, of a signal by decreasing signal-to-noise ratios at the position of the receiver. At the same time, noise is ubiquitous in all habitats and is, therefore, likely to disturb animals, as well as humans, under many circumstances. However, both animals and humans have evolved diverse solutions to the background noise problem, and this chapter reviews recent advancements in studies of vocal adaptations to interference by background noise and relate these to fundamental issues in sound perception. The chapter starts with the discussion of sender's side by considering potential evolutionary shaping of species-specific signal characteristics and individual short‐term adjustments of signal features. Subsequently, it focuses on the receivers of signals and reviews their sensory capacities for signal detection, recognition, and discrimination and relates these issues to auditory scene analysis and the ecological concept of signal space. The data from studies on insects, anurans, birds, and mammals, including humans, and to a lesser extent available work on fish and reptiles is also discussed in the chapter.