A growing body of research shows that birds and other animals change their behavior in response to manmade noise, such as the din of traffic or the hum of machinery. But human clamor doesn’t just affect animals. Because many animals also pollinate plants or eat or disperse their seeds, human noise can have ripple effects on plants too, finds a new study.

A new study finds that man-made noise has ripple effects on plants such as piñon pine, whose natural seed dispersers tend to avoid noisy areas. Photo courtesy of Clinton Francis, NESCent.