Soundscape Ecology

Preface 1 Soundscape & Landscape Ecologies 1.1 Introduction 1.2 A Semantic Caveat: Sound, Sonic, Acoustic 1.3 The Definition of Soundscape 1.4 A Brief History of Soundscape Ecology: Origins and Perspectives 1.5 The Disciplinary Contribution to the Soundscape Ecology 1.6 The Three Sources of the Sonic Environment 1.6.1 Geophonies 1.6.2 Biophonies 1.6.3 Anthrophonies 1.7 Foreground and Background Sonic Environment 1.8 Hi-Fi & Lo-Fi Soundscapes 1.9 Landscape: Emerging Patterns and Dynamics 1.10 Sonic Patterns in Soundscape Ecology 1.10.1 Definition of Sonotope 1.10.2 Definition of Soundtope 1.10.3 Definition of Sonotone 1.11 The Relationship between Landscape Structure and Soundscape Patterns 1.12 The Sonic Components of the Environment and the General Theory of Resources 1.13 Definition of Sonic Eco-field 1.14 Landscape Fragmentation and Soundscape Processes References 2 The Sonic Characters of the Landscapes 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Weather Conditions and Sound propagation 2.3 Climatic Patterns and Sounds 2.4 Elevation and Song Complexity 2.5 The Contribution of Vegetation Micro and Macro Structure to Sonic Environment 2.6 Reverberation and Attenuation in Broadleaf and Pine Forests 2.7 Vibrations and Leaves 2.8 Sound Propagation at Forest Edges 2.9 The Jungle Soundscape 2.10 The Sound of Fire References 3 Bioacoustic Theories 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Morphological Adaptation Hypothesis (MAH) 3.3 The Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis (AAH) 3.4 The Acoustic Niche Hypothesis (ANH) 3.5 The Species Recognition Hypothesis (SRH) References 4 Communication Theories 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The Communication Theory 4.3 Eavesdropping and the Interspecific Communication 4.4 Echolocation: a Special Case of Communication 4.5 Heterospecific and Conspecific Attraction 4.6 Male-Female Song Recognition 4.7 Sound Degradation and Ranging Hypothesis 4.8 Distress Calls 4.9 Soundscape Orientation and Spatial Source Segregation 4.10 Ecological Codes 4.11 How to Improve Signaling 4.12 The Honesty of Acoustical Signals 4.13 Dialects as a Divergent Communication 4.14 Acoustic Partitioning in Birds and Frogs 4.15 Communication in Steep Soil 4.16 Signaling Systems and Climatic Proxies 4.17 Song and Reproductive Timing 4.18 Acoustic Cues and Antipredatory Performance 4.19 Soft Song 4.20 The Bioacoustics Interactions between Plants and Insects References 5 The Human Dimension of the Soundscape: from Individuals to Society 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Psychological Approach to the Soundscape Interpretation 5.3 Noise Sensitivity 5.4 Noise Annoyance: Definition and Evaluation Procedures 5.5 A Soundscape Semantic 5.6 Elements of Psychoacoustics 5.7 Noise Pollution: a Growing Problem for Human Societies 5.8 Noise Consequences on Human Physiology and Health 5.9 The Characters of the Urban Soundscape 5.10 The Sonic Environment of the Urban Parks 5.11 Pleasant Sounds, Sound Pressure Level and Acoustic Comfort 5.12 The Value of Soundmarks in Urban Landscape 5.13 The Interactions between Visual and Acoustic Stimuli 5.14 Quiet Areas as Solution to Decrease People Annoyance 5.15 The Aesthetic Component of Soundscape Interpretation 5.16 Conclusions References 6 Sonic Patterns I: The Noise 6.1 Introduction 6.2 A Definition of Noise 6.3 Characteristics of the Anthropogenic Noise 6.4 Active Space and Noise 6.5 The Noise Context 6.6 Noise in Patchy Sonotopes 6.7 Noise Pattern as a Source of Environmental Pollution 6.8 The Effects of Noise on Vocal Animals 6.9 Masking Effect on Animal Life 6.10 Underwater Sound Sources 6.11 Marine Sound Signature 6.12 Acoustic Masking in Freshwater Ecosystems 6.13 Acoustic Masking in Marine Ecosystems 6.14 Ship and Boat Traffic on Marine Wildlife 6.15 Effect of Traffic Noise on Wildlife 6.16 Noise as Signal in Marine Environments 6.17 Noise from a Multi-Source Environment 6.18 Oil Spill, Noise and Effects on Animals 6.19 Wind Turbines and Noise 6.20 Military Noise 6.21 A Psychoacoustic Approach to the Noise 6.22 Noise from Urban Soundscapes 6.23 A Historical Perspective of Urban Noise 6.24 The Cognitive Component in Noise Evaluation 6.25 Effect of Noise on Humans and Societies Health 6.26 Urban Soundscape Design for Biodiversity 6.27 Perspectives in Noise Research References 7 Sonic Patterns II: The Choruses 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The Chorus Hypotheses 7.3 Choruses in Amphibians 7.4 Cooperative versus Competitive Hypothesis in Amphibian Choruses 7.5 Choruses in Birds 7.6 Reproduction Mechanisms and Choruses References 8 Sonic Patterns III: Sounds and Vibrations from Soils 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Seismic Signals from Reptiles 8.3 Seismic Signals from Mammals 8.4 Seismic Signals from Arthropods 8.5 Soil Pests, Sound Detection and Biodiversity Assessment References 9 Methods 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Basic Elements of Acoustics 9.2.1 The Sound 9.2.2 The Decibel 9.3 Digital Representation of Sound 9.4 Time Domain and Frequency Domain of Sound 9.5 The Spectrogram 9.6 Field Recording Procedures 9.7 Metrics in Soundscape Ecology 9.7.1 Sound Pressure Measurements 9.7.2 Spectral Analysis 9.8 Pattern Recognition of Vocalizations 9.9 Functional Diversity Indices 9.10 Software Tools for Soundscape Analysis 9.11 Browsing the Audio Data Base 9.12 Methods to Evaluate/Rating the Quality of the Sonic Ambient 9.13 Method of Soundwalking 9.14 Soundscape Customer Satisfaction 9.15 The Assessment of the Human-Perceived Soundscape References 10 Applications 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Threats to Animal Communication 10.3 Acoustic Monitoring 10.4 A Sonic Observatory 10.5 Mapping Quiet Areas 10.6 Valuing Noises in Recreation Areas 10.7 Managing Sonic Context in Natural Areas 10.8 Soundscape Protection in National Parks 10.9 Perceived Crowding in Natural Parks 10.10 Snowmobile Noise in National Parks 10.11 Aircraft Noise in National Parks 10.12 Valuing Sonic Heritage 10.13 Some Characters of the Urban Sonic Environment 10.14 Urban Noise Management 10.15 Traffic Noise Mitigation Procedures and Urban Spaces 10.16 Design the Soundscape of Urban Spaces and Parks 10.17 Sonification References Index