Using aircraft tracking data to estimate the geographic scope of noise impacts from low-level overflights above parks and protected areas.

Sightseeing air tours have proven to be a challenging management issue for many tourist destinations around the world, especially at locations meant to protect natural and cultural resources and wilderness character. Two of the primary challenges with managing air tours are a lack of information about their travel patterns and how such patterns result in a measurable noise impact to listeners. Recent studies have highlighted the usefulness of newer technology for tracking aircraft travel patterns, particularly over national parks.

The use of on-animal acoustical recording devices for studying animal behavior.

Audio recordings made from free-ranging animals can be used to investigate aspects of physiology, behavior, and ecology through acoustic signal processing. On-animal acoustical monitoring applications allow continuous remote data collection, and can serve to address questions across temporal and spatial scales. We report on the design of an inexpensive collar-mounted recording device and present data on the activity budget of wild mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) derived from these devices applied for a 2-week period.