Soundscapes reveal disturbance impacts: biophonic response to wildfire in the Sonoran Desert Sky Islands
- Submitting institution
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Ravensbourne University London
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- MD01
- Type
- D - Journal article
- DOI
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10.1007/s10980-018-0675-3
- Title of journal
- Landscape Ecology
- Article number
- -
- First page
- 1399
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 8
- ISSN
- 0921-2973
- Open access status
- Deposit exception
- Month of publication
- -
- Year of publication
- 2018
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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6
- Research group(s)
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-
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- This research was undertaken in collaboration with the Center for Global Soundscapes and Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University. The study employs long-term acoustic recordings to monitor animal response to land disturbance, in this case wildfire. My role was to develop the software to be used by the research team to analyse the recordings.
While remote sensing imagery is effective at quantifying changes to land cover across large areas, its utility for directly assessing the response of animals to disturbance is limited. Can soundscape approaches - that focus on the recording and analysis of sounds in a landscape address this shortcoming?
Over the course of the study, we recorded seasonal acoustic data across at a range of sites, some burned by wildfire, others left untouched. Biophonic acoustic activity was measured to gauge the presence of animal communities in the habitat. In June, higher acoustic activity was observed in three of four ecological systems at non-burned sites. This difference was associated with the presence of cicadas (Cicadidae spp.), which favored the presence of living trees at non-burned sites. This outcome supports the idea that soundscape approaches can help address long-term conservation issues.
The Sonic Timelapse Builder was used to measure the impact of wildfire through analysis of acoustic activity two years after the event. The seasonal and diel biological acoustic activity was described using the “Bioacoustic Index” - a detailed aural analysis of sounds by source using the software.
The article has been cited in further research - suggesting it has been influential to the research field.
The main challenge with this research was developing the Sonic Timelapse Builder to the necessary specifications of the research team. My experience with developing synchronous granular synthesis from prior research projects formed the basis of the technique, now applied to soundscape analysis.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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