Anthropogenic changes to the landscape can introduce novel stimuli to the environment that can increase risk for animals, whether or not the animals detect the stimuli. When animals detect anthropogenic stimuli, these stimuli may act as sensory pollutants—human-caused change to the environment that interferes with how animals detect, assess, and/or respond to information—that can mask important natural cues; divert attention away from important natural cues; mislead animals by resembling natural cues, resulting in maladaptive behavioral responses; or even result in animal disorientation (Van Doren et al. 2017; Dominoni et al. 2020). Anthropogenic stimuli outside the range of an animal’s perception (e.g., outside of visual or auditory range) go undetected and may result in animals being exposed to risk without being capable of assessing or responding appropriately (Smith et al. 2021).
