Human activity forces Himalayan monals to change calls: Study
The researchers compared the birds' calls in Madmaheshwar Valley, a relatively quiet area with little tourist activity, and Chopta, a popular tourist destination with heavy traffic and visitor movement.
Increasing tourism and vehicular traffic in Uttarakhand's Himalayan region are forcing Himalayan monals to alter the pitch of their calls to communicate, according to a study by researchers at Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University (HBGU).
The five-year study by HBGU researchers Rajeev Lochan, Dinesh Kumar Sharma and Anand Kumar found that monals in noisier areas adjust their calls to make themselves heard over traffic and conversations among tourists.
The researchers compared the birds' calls in Madmaheshwar Valley, a relatively quiet area with little tourist activity, and Chopta, a popular tourist destination with heavy traffic and visitor movement.
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In April 2023, the team recorded more than 700 monal calls using microphones and passive recording equipment.
Their analysis found that monals in noisier surroundings produced calls with higher peak frequencies than those in quieter habitats. Birds in Chopta also produced shorter calls than those in Madmaheshwar.
"This does not mean that the species has undergone a permanent or evolutionary change in its vocal frequency; rather, our findings suggest behavioural flexibility in response to different acoustic environments," Lochan said.
The researchers said the changes could help the birds communicate in areas where human-generated noise may mask their calls. However, they cautioned that further research is needed to determine whether the changes have longer-term effects on breeding or other behaviours.
The findings are part of two studies conducted by the researchers over five years examining how human activity and environmental changes are affecting the Himalayan monal.
"These birds are now slowly moving upwards in the Himalayas as the snow is melting and vegetation is growing, making the area accessible to them. They are anyway being pushed upwards as their natural habitats in alpine meadows are being encroached upon by humans," Lochan said.
He warned that the changes affecting monals could indicate wider ecological disturbances.
