ArticleNoise & health
Investigating the Impact of Acoustic Environment and Human Presence on Okapi Faecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites.
Article in Noise & health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- A Scoping Review: The Effect of Anthropogenic Noise on Animal Welfare in Zoological Settings.Veterinary medicine and science · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe influence of visitor behaviour and sound pressure levels on zoo animals remains unclear.
objectiveThis study examined associations between sound pressure levels, visitor numbers and faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGCMs) in a male okapi (Okapia johnstoni) at a UK zoo. MATERIALS AND
methodsData were collected across two 5-day periods representing high- and low-visitor seasons, yielding 10 days of acoustic recordings and matching FGCM samples. Acoustic metrics were calculated for the open and closed periods of the zoo (LeqZ, L10Z and L90Z). Statistical analyses included the Wilcoxon and Welch t-tests, as well as Pearson correlations and multiple linear regression models.
resultsLeqZ and L10Z did not differ between seasons, whereas background noise (L90Z) was higher in the low season (t = -4.42, P = 0.005). Sound levels were generally higher during open hours in both seasons. Correlations between visitor numbers and acoustic metrics were weak and non-significant (high season LeqZ × visitors: r = 0.005, P = 0.994; low season: r = -0.347, P = 0.567). FGCM concentrations did not differ between seasons (72a: P = 1.00; 72T: P = 0.37). Regression analyses showed that LeqZOpen positively predicted 72T FGCMs (β = 5.30 ± 1.85, P = 0.02), while visitor numbers negatively predicted 72T (β = -0.04 ± 0.02, P = 0.04). Visitor numbers did not differ between seasons.
conclusionsOkapi adrenocortical activity appears more responsive to acoustic conditions than to visitor numbers, suggesting noise as the primary stressor. Reducing noise through enrichment or vegetation may improve okapi welfare.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.