Soundscapes are the combination of sounds produced by living organisms (biophony), natural physical processes (geophony), and human activities (anthrophony) within a landscape. A major component of biophony are animal vocalizations, which serve essential functions such as mating, territorial defence, foraging, and alarm. Because animal vocalizations respond to environmental conditions and community composition, soundscapes can provide valuable information about ecosystem health and environmental change, and can also help detect rare and threatened species.
The rapid development of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), combined with Artificial Intelligence, is now allowing researchers to monitor acoustic diversity at unprecedented spatial and temporal scales. However, important challenges remain in translating large volumes of acoustic data into meaningful ecological information.
In this presentation, I will illustrate three applications of PAM, ranging from applied conservation to fundamental ecology:
(1) detecting cryptic and threatened bird species in Spanish wetlands;
(2) investigating the effects of acoustic invasion by introduced parakeets on native bird communities in urban landscapes; and
(3) addressing fundamental questions in community ecology, including the Acoustic Niche Hypothesis and the mechanisms shaping soundscape organization.
Together, these examples highlight how listening to ecosystems can provide new ways to monitor biodiversity, understand environmental change, and address fundamental questions in ecology.
Speaker
LE STUDIUM Visiting Researcher
FROM: University of Sevilla - SP
IN RESIDENCE AT: Forest Ecosystems Research Unit (EFNO) / INRAE - FR
