Integrating soundscape ecology and disturbance ecology into an acoustic ecosystem assessment framework

Background/Question/Methods

Soundscape ecology is an emerging field that uses all sounds from an ecosystem as measures of biological, geophysical and/or anthropogenic patterns and processes in landscapes. Within the last few years, an explosion of new metrics and studies that rely on this relatively fresh new paradigm have been produced with promising results.  Currently, however, few studies have attempted to examine ecosystems from a standpoint of multiple stressors occurring over spatial and temporal scales that matter for natural resource management. This deficiency is due in part from the lack of a holistic framework that ties ecosystem disturbances and ecosystem services to soundscapes.  The objective of this talk is to illustrate how soundscape ecology and disturbance ecology can be integrated in a synergistic way moving this nascent field forward.

Results/Conclusions

The soundscape ecology-disturbance ecology-ecosystem services framework illustrates the connections between ecological processes that affect those valued attributes of landscapes for humans has well as the potential impact that factors such as climate change, habitat alteration via land use/cover change and wildfire, invasive species, and noise could alter the occurrence and perceptions of sounds in nature.  Sounds are a vital functional component of ecosystems as they reflect both fundamental geophysical processes and are a major mode of communication in many animals.