Ecoacoustics – The Ecological Role of Sounds

List of Contributors xiii Preface xv 1 Ecoacoustics: A New Science 1 Almo Farina and Stuart H. Gage 1.1 Ecoacoustics as a New Science 1 1.2 Characteristics of a Sound 1 1.3 Sound and its Importance 2 1.4 Ecoacoustics and Digital Sensors 3 1.5 Ecoacoustics Attributes 3 1.5.1 Population Census 4 1.5.2 Biological Diversity 4 1.5.3 Habitat Health 4 1.5.4 Time of Arrival/Departure of Migratory Species 4 1.5.5 Diurnal Change 5 1.5.6 Seasonal Change 5 1.5.7 Competition for Frequency 5 1.5.8 Trophic Interactions 5 1.5.9 Disturbance 5 1.5.10 Sounds of the Landscape and People 6 1.6 Ecoacoustics and Ecosystem Management 6 1.7 Quantification of a Sound 7 1.7.1 Species Identification 7 1.7.2 Acoustic Indices 7 1.8 Archiving Ecoacoustics Recordings 8 1.9 Ecological Forecasting 9 References 9 2 The Duality of Sounds: Ambient and Communication 13 Almo Farina and Stuart H. Gage 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 Vegetation and Ecoacoustics 14 2.2.1 Vegetation Quality and Ecoacoustics 15 2.2.2 Soundscape Indices and Biodiversity 15 2.2.3 Applications of Remote Sensing of Vegetation and Ecoacoustics 16 2.3 Acoustic Resources, Umwelten, and Eco-fields 17 2.4 Sounds as Biological Codes 20 2.5 Sound as a Compass for Navigation 21 2.6 Geophonies from Sacred Sites – How to Incorporate Archeoacoustics into Ecoacoustics 22 2.6.1 The Characteristics of Geophonies 23 2.6.2 Geophonies and Sacred Sites 23 2.6.3 Human Versus Other Animals’ Perception of Sound: The Role of Archeoacoustics 24 References 24 3 The Role of Sound in Terrestrial Ecosystems: Three Case Examples from Michigan, USA 31 Stuart H. Gage and Almo Farina 3.1 Introduction 31 3.2 C1 Visualization of the Soundscape at Ted Black Woods, Okemos, Michigan during May 2016 31 3.2.1 C1 Background 31 3.2.2 C1 Objectives 32 3.2.3 C1 Methods 32 3.2.3.1 C1 Soundscape Metrics 33 3.2.3.2 C1 Weather Factors Affecting Sounds 33 3.2.4 C1 Results 33 3.2.4.1 C1 Patterns of Soundscape Power for Six Frequency Intervals 33 3.2.4.2 C1 Patterns of Soundscape Indices 37 3.2.4.3 C1 Wind Patterns During May 2016 37 3.2.4.4 C1 Rain Patterns During May 2016 37 3.2.4.5 C1 Spectrogram Patterns 41 3.2.5 C1 Discussion 42 3.3 C2 Implications for Climate Change – Detecting First Call of the Spring Peeper 44 3.3.1 C2 Background 44 3.3.2 C2 Methods 44 3.3.3 C2 Results 45 3.3.4 C2 Discussion 47 3.4 C3 Disturbance in Terrestrial Systems: Tree Harvest Impacts on the Soundscape 49 3.4.1 C3 Background 49 3.4.2 C3 Methods 51 3.4.3 C3 Results 52 3.4.3.1 C3 Changes in the Soundscape 52 3.4.3.2 C3 Statistical Influence of Forest Harvest 55 3.4.4 C3 Discussion 55 References 59 4 The Role of Sound in the Aquatic Environment 61 Francesco Filiciotto and Giuseppa Buscaino 4.1 Overview on Underwater Sound Propagation 61 4.1.1 Sound Speed in the Sea 61 4.1.2 Transmission Loss 61 4.1.3 Deep and Shallow Sound Channel and Animal Communication 62 4.2 Sound Emissions and their Ecological Role in Marine Vertebrates and Invertebrates 63 4.2.1 Marine Mammals 63 4.2.2 Fish 64 4.2.3 Crustaceans 65 4.3 Impacts of Anthropogenic Noise in Aquatic Environments 67 4.3.1 Main Anthropogenic Sources of Noise in the Sea 67 4.3.2 The Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Marine Organisms 68 4.3.2.1 Acoustic Masking and Damage to Hearing System of Marine Organisms 68 4.3.2.2 Biochemical Impacts and Stress Responses 69 4.3.2.3 Behavior Alterations 70 References 71 5 The Acoustic Chorus and its Ecological Significance 81 Almo Farina and Maria Ceraulo 5.1 Introduction 81 5.2 Time of Chorus 82 5.3 The Chorus Hypothesis 86 5.4 Choruses in Birds 87 5.5 Choruses in Amphibians 87 5.6 Choruses in the Marine Environment 88 5.7 Conclusions and Discussion 89 References 89 6 The Ecological Effects of Noise on Species and Communities 95 Almo Farina 6.1 Introduction 95 6.2 The Nature of Noise 96 6.3 Natural Sources of Noise 96 6.4 Anthropogenic Sources of Noise 97 6.5 Effects of Noise on the Animal World 97 6.6 How Animals Neutralize the Effect of Noise 100 6.6.1 Changing Amplitude 100 6.6.2 Changing Frequency 100 6.6.3 Changing Signal Redundancy 101 6.6.4 Changing Behavior 101 6.7 Noise in Marine and Freshwater Systems 101 6.8 Conclusions 102 References 103 7 Biodiversity Assessment in Temperate Biomes using Ecoacoustics 109 Almo Farina and Nadia Pieretti 7.1 Introduction 109 7.2 Sound as Proxy for Biodiversity 110 7.3 Methods and Application of Ecoacoustics 111 7.4 Acoustic Communities as a Proxy for Biodiversity 113 7.5 Problems and Open Questions 114 7.6 Ecoacoustic Events: Concepts and Procedures 116 7.7 Conclusion 122 References 122 8 Biodiversity Assessment in Tropical Biomes using Ecoacoustics: Linking Soundscape to Forest Structure in a Human-dominated Tropical Dry Forest in Southern Madagascar 129 Lyndsay Rankin and Anne C. Axel 8.1 Introduction 129 8.2 Methods 131 8.2.1 Study Area 131 8.2.2 Forest Sampling 132 8.2.3 Soundscape Survey 133 8.2.4 Acoustic Index 133 8.2.5 Mixed Model Analysis 134 8.3 Results 135 8.3.1 Acoustic Index by Season 135 8.3.2 Mixed Model Analyses 137 8.4 Discussion 137 Acknowledgments 141 References 142 9 Biodiversity Assessment and Environmental Monitoring in Freshwater and Marine Biomes using Ecoacoustics 145 Denise Risch and Susan E. Parks 9.1 Introduction 145 9.2 Freshwater Habitats 147 9.2.1 Rivers 147 9.2.1.1 Remote Monitoring of Biotic Signals in the Environment 147 9.2.1.2 Remote Monitoring of the Environment Using Sound in River Habitats 148 9.2.1.3 Anthropogenic Sources of Noise in River Systems 148 9.2.2 Lakes and Ponds 148 9.2.2.1 Remote Monitoring of Biotic Signals in the Environment 149 9.2.2.2 Remote Monitoring of the Environment Using Sound in Lakes and Ponds 149 9.2.2.3 Anthropogenic Sources of Noise in Lakes and Ponds 149 9.3 Marine Neritic Habitats 150 9.3.1 Estuaries and Coastal Habitats 150 9.3.1.1 Remote Monitoring of Biotic Signals in the Environment 150 9.3.1.2 Remote Monitoring of the Environment Using Sound in Estuarine and Coastal Habitats 150 9.3.1.3 Anthropogenic Sources of Noise in Estuarine and Coastal Habitats 152 9.3.2 Coral Reefs 152 9.3.2.1 Remote Monitoring of Biotic Signals in the Environment 152 9.3.2.2 Remote Monitoring of the Environment Using Sound in Coral Reef Environments 153 9.3.2.3 Anthropogenic Sources of Noise in Coral Reef Environments 153 9.4 Marine Oceanic Habitats 153 9.4.1 Open Ocean and Deep Sea Habitats 153 9.4.1.1 Remote Monitoring of Biotic Signals in the Environment 154 9.4.1.2 Remote Monitoring of the Environment Using Sound in the Open Ocean 154 9.4.1.3 Anthropogenic Sources of Noise in the Open Ocean 154 9.4.2 Polar Oceans 155 9.4.2.1 Remote Monitoring of Biotic Signals in the Environment 155 9.4.2.2 Remote Monitoring of the Environment with Sound in Polar Regions 155 9.4.2.3 Anthropogenic Sources of Noise in the Polar Regions 156 9.5 Summary and Future Directions 156 References 158 10 Integrating Biophony into Biodiversity Measurement and Assessment 169 Brian Michael Napoletano 10.1 Introduction 169 10.1.1 Biodiversity and its Parameterization 170 10.2 Biological Information in the Soundscape 171 10.2.1 Physiology: Sound Production and Detection 174 10.2.2 Communication: Medium and Context 176 10.2.3 Coordination: Evolution of the Biophony 178 10.2.4 Adaptation: Mechanization of the Soundscape 180 10.3 Ecoacoustics in Biodiversity Assessment 182 10.3.1 Developing a Soundscape Monitoring Network 182 10.3.2 Acoustic Data Processing and Management 183 10.4 Conclusion 184 References 185 11 Landscape Patterns and Soundscape Processes 193 Almo Farina and Susan Fuller 11.1 An Introduction to Landscape Ecology (Theories and Applications) 193 11.1.1 Patch Size, Shape, and Isolation 193 11.1.2 Patch‐Matrix Context 194 11.2 Relationship Between Landscape Ecology and Soundscape Ecology: A Semantic Approach 195 11.2.1 The Contribution of Landscape Ecology to the Development of Ecoacoustics 196 11.2.2 Acoustic Heterogeneity in a Landscape Across Space and Time 197 11.3 Acoustic Community and Landscape Mosaics 199 11.4 Ecoacoustics in a Changing Landscape 202 11.5 Conclusion 203 References 204 12 Connecting Soundscapes to Landscapes: Modeling the Spatial Distribution of Sound 211 Timothy C. Mullet 12.1 Introduction 211 12.2 Conceptualizing Soundscapes in Space and Time 211 12.3 Capturing Soundscapes in Space and Time 212 12.4 Sound Metrics and Interpreting Nature 213 12.5 A Soundscape Metric for Modeling 215 12.6 Discriminating the Components of a Soundscape 216 12.7 Generating a Predictive Soundscape Model 217 12.8 Conclusion 219 Disclaimer 221 References 221 13 Soil Acoustics 225 Marisol A. Quintanilla‐Tornel 13.1 Introduction 225 13.2 Soil Insect Acoustics 226 13.3 Compost Activating Agent Acoustics 226 13.4 Soil Aggregate Slaking Acoustics 227 13.5 Conclusion 230 References 231 14 Fundamentals of Soundscape Conservation 235 Gianni Pavan 14.1 Introduction 235 14.2 Nature Sounds in Science and Education 238 14.3 The Role of Sound Libraries 242 14.4 Noise Pollution, the Acoustic Habitat, and the Biology of Disturbance 243 14.5 Soundscapes, Nature Conservation, and Public Awareness 244 14.6 Marine Soundscapes 245 14.6.1 Ship Noise 246 14.7 Conclusion 251 14.7.1 Terrestrial Soundscapes 252 14.7.2 Marine and Aquatic Soundscapes 252 Acknowledgment 252 References 252 15 Urban Acoustics: Heartbeat of Lansing, Michigan, USA 259 Stuart H. Gage and Wooyeong Joo 15.1 Introduction 259 15.2 Objectives 260 15.3 Methods 261 15.3.1 Sampling Design 261 15.3.2 Recording at Sample Sites 262 15.3.3 Data Conversion 262 15.3.4 Data Processing 262 15.4 Results 264 15.4.1 The NDSI 264 15.4.2 The H, ADI, AEI, ACI, and BIO Indices 267 15.5 Discussion and Conclusions 267 References 271 16 Analytical Methods in Ecoacoustics 273 Stuart H. Gage, Michael Towsey and Eric P. Kasten 16.1 Introduction 273 16.2 Components of an Acoustic Recording 275 16.3 Visualization of an Acoustic Recording 276 16.3.1 Frequency Analysis 276 16.3.2 Three‐Dimensional Spectrogram 277 16.4 Processing Multiple Recordings 277 16.5 Analyzing Acoustic Time Series 279 16.6 Time Series of Acoustic Indices 281 16.7 Searching and Symbolic Methods 282 16.7.1 Searching a Recording for Anomalies 284 16.7.2 Symbolic Representations and Unsupervised Learning 285 16.8 Visualization and Navigation of Long‐Duration Recordings 286 16.9 Spectrogram Pyramids 289 16.9.1 Diel Plots 289 16.10 New Approaches to Analysis 291 16.11 Web Platforms for the Visualization of Environmental Audio 291 References 293 17 Ecoacoustics and its Expression through the Voice of the Arts: An Essay 297 David Monacchi and Bernie Krause 17.1 Introduction 297 17.2 Immersive Art as a Science Dissemination Tool 299 17.3 Examples of Ecoacoustic Works by Bernie Krause 302 17.4 Examples of Ecoacoustics Works by David Monacchi 306 17.4.1 Designing Temples for the Ear: The Ecoacoustic Theater 309 17.4.2 Soundscape Projection Ambisonics Control Engine (S.P.A.C.E.) 310 17.5 Conclusion 311 References 311 18 Ecoacoustics Challenges 313 Stuart H. Gage and Almo Farina 18.1 Introduction 313 18.2 Philosophical Issues 313 18.3 Ecological Issues 314 18.4 Sensor Technology 315 18.5 Acoustic Computations and Modeling 316 18.6 Public Information 316 18.7 Monetary Issues 317 References 317 Index 321