Principles of Soundscape Ecology: Discovering Our Sonic World

by Bryan C. Pijanowski

Overview

From a founding figure in the field, the definitive introduction to an exciting new science.
 
What do the sounds of a chorus of tropical birds and frogs, a clap of thunder, and a cacophony of urban traffic have in common? They are all components of a soundscape, acoustic environments that have been identified by scientists as a combination of the biophony, geophony, and anthrophony, respectively, of all of Earth’s sound sources. As sound is a ubiquitous occurrence in nature, it is actively sensed by most animals and is an important way for them to understand how their environment is changing. For humans, environmental sound is a major factor in creating a psychological sense of place, and many forms of sonic expression by people embed knowledge and culture. In this book, soundscape ecology pioneer Bryan C. Pijanowski presents the definitive text for both students and practitioners who are seeking to engage with this thrilling new field. Principles of Soundscape Ecology clearly outlines soundscape ecology’s critical foundations, key concepts, methods, and applications. Fundamentals include concise and valuable descriptions of the physics of sound as well as a thorough elucidation of all sounds that occur on Earth. Pijanowski also presents a rich overview of the ecological, sociocultural, and technical theories that support this new science, illustrating the breadth of this amazingly transdisciplinary field. In methods, he describes the principles of data mining, signal processing, and mixed methods approaches used to study soundscapes in ecological, social, or socio-ecological contexts. The final section focuses on terrestrial, aquatic, urban, and music applications, demonstrating soundscape ecology’s utility in nearly all spaces.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226824291
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	05/28/2024
Edition description:	1
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	190,979
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bryan C. Pijanowski is professor of forestry and natural resources at Purdue University, where he is also director of the Center for Global Soundscapes. He is the executive producer of the interactive IMAX experience film Global Soundscapes: Mission to Record the Earth and has authored more than 170 articles appearing in outlets such as BioScience, Landscape Ecology, Ecological Indicators, Ecological Informatics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Applied Ecology, and Science of the Total Environment. His “mission to record the Earth” is to study, using soundscapes, all thirty-two major biomes of the world. At press time, he has four more to go. Pijanowski’s work has been featured by CNN, PBS’s NOVA, NPR’s Science Friday, New York Times Magazine, Science News, and the Weather Channel.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part I: Fundamentals

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1. Sounds Are a Universal Indicator of Change
1.2. What Is a Soundscape?
1.3. What Is Soundscape Ecology?
1.4. Intellectual Roots of Soundscape Ecology
1.5. Parallel Developments
1.6. How Soundscape Ecology May Address Global Environmental and Societal Grand Challenges
1.6.1. Confronting the Biodiversity Crisis
1.6.2. Improving Society’s Connectedness with Nature
1.6.3. Sustaining Sonic Practices as a Form of Traditional Ecological Knowledge
1.6.4. Planning for Healthy Living Spaces
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 2: The Physics of Sound
2.1. Sound as a Wave
2.1.1. Key Terms
2.1.2. Longitudinal Waves
2.1.3. Transverse Waves
2.1.4. Ripple Waves
2.1.5. Other Phenomena Related to Mechanical Waves
2.1.6. Properties of All Mechanical Waves
2.2. Visualizing a Sound Recording
2.3. Recording Sound with Transducers
2.3.1. Microphones
2.3.2. Sound Files
2.4. Psychoacoustics
2.4.1. Pitch
2.4.2. Timbre
2.4.3. Loudness
2.4.4. Age and Gender Differences in Sound Sensitivity
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 3: Sources of Sound in the Soundscape
3.1. Biological Sound Production and Perception
3.1.1. Animal Communication Terms
3.1.2. Acoustic Communication Repertoire
3.1.3. Onomatopoeia
3.1.4. Acoustic Communication by Taxonomic Group
3.2. Geophysical Sounds
3.2.1. Wind in Terrestrial Landscapes
3.2.2. Thunder
3.2.3. Precipitation in Terrestrial Landscapes
3.2.4. Flowing Water of Rivers and Streams
3.2.5. Earth Tremors
3.2.6. Sand Dunes
3.2.7. Geophysical Sounds in Oceans
3.2.8. Glaciers and Icebergs
3.3. Anthropogenic Sounds
3.3.1. Road Noise
3.3.2. Doppler Effect
3.3.3. Sirens
3.3.4. Horns
3.3.5. Construction Activity
3.3.6. Wind Turbines
3.3.7. Anthropogenic Transportation Hot Spots
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Part II: Concepts

Chapter 4: Sensory Ecology
4.1. Sensory Drive Framework
4.2. Sound Production in Animals
4.2.1. Morphological Adaptation Hypothesis
4.2.2. Acoustic Niche Hypothesis
4.2.3. Extended Communication Network Hypothesis
4.3. Propagation of Animal Communication
4.3.1. Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis
4.3.2. Tests of the AAH
4.3.3. The Lombard Effect
4.4. Sound Reception by Animals
4.4.1. Auditory Filters
4.4.2. Auditory Filter Hypothesis
4.5. Critique of the Current Acoustic Niche Hypothesis
4.6. Geophonic Concepts
4.6.1. Considerations
4.6.2. Geophonies Reflect Broad Patterns of Climate Dynamics
4.6.3. Influence of Geophony on Biophonies
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 5: Spatial Ecologies
5.1. Landscape Ecology
5.1.1. Guiding Principles of Landscape Ecology
5.1.2. Measuring Landscapes
5.1.3. Landscapes and Biodiversity
5.1.4. Relevance of Landscape Ecology to Soundscape Ecology
5.2. Biogeography
5.2.1. Understanding All Levels of Biological Organization
5.2.2. Biomes/Life Zones/Ecoregions
5.2.3. Global Patterns of Organismal Traits
5.2.4. Geological History of Land
5.2.5. Intersection of Biogeography and Soundscape Ecology
5.3. Conservation Biology
5.3.1. Origins of Modern Western Conservation Thinking
5.3.2. Twenty-First-Century Motivation for the Conservation of Nature
5.3.3. Protected Area Typologies and Major Conservation Organizations
5.3.4. Characteristics of Modern Western Conservation Biology
5.3.5. Monitoring and Assessment in Conservation Science
5.3.6. Conservation Planning Approaches
5.3.7. Sociocultural Dimensions of Conservation
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 6: Sociocultural Concepts
6.1. The Key Concept of Perception
6.2. Ethnomusicology and the Anthropology of Music
6.2.1. Fundamentals of Ethnomusicology
6.2.2. Sensory Ethnography
6.2.3. Acoustic Ecology and Schafer’s Soundscape
6.2.4. Ecomusicology
6.2.5. Ecoethnomusicology
6.2.6. Extending Ethnography to Include Soundscapes and Sonic Practices
6.3. Sensuous Geography
6.4. Sense of Place Studies
6.5. Traditional Ecological Knowledge
6.5.1. The TEK Complex
6.5.2. TEK and Science
6.5.3. TEK Transmission
6.5.4. TEK and the Future
6.6. Nature Connectedness and Relatedness
6.7. Affective Qualities of Soundscapes
6.8. Attention Restoration Theory and Related Concepts
6.9. Soundscapes as Coupled Human and Natural Systems
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 7: Data Science Concepts
7.1. Big Data and Soundscape Ecology
7.1.1. Key Terms of Data Science
7.1.2. Key Statistical Terms
7.2. Characteristics of Big Data
7.2.1. Volume
7.2.2. Velocity
7.2.3. Variety
7.2.4. Veracity
7.2.5. Variability
7.2.6. Value
7.3. Soundscape Analytics
7.3.1. Basic Terms
7.3.2. Data Types
7.3.3. An Archetypal Data Analysis Pipeline
7.4. Data Management
7.4.1. Basic Terms and Concepts
7.4.2. Querying
7.5. Textual Analysis
7.5.1. Forms of Textual Analysis
7.5.2. Textual Features
7.6. Software Tools
7.6.1. Database Management Tools
7.6.2. Operating Systems
7.6.3. Analysis Tools
7.6.4. Visualization Tools
7.7. Client-Server-Cloud Technologies
7.8. A Fourth Paradigm of Science?
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 8: Soundscape Ecology as a Nexus
8.1. Expanding the Definition of the Soundscape
8.1.1. Definition
8.1.2. Physical Dimension
8.1.3. Experiential Dimension
8.2. Guiding Principles of Soundscape Ecology
8.2.1. Sound Sources
8.2.2. Forces That Drive the Dynamics of Soundscapes
8.2.3. Doing Soundscape Ecological Research
8.3. Organizing Hypotheses for Soundscape Ecology
8.3.1. Biologically Focused Hypotheses
8.3.2. Geophonically Focused Hypotheses
8.3.3. Anthrophonically Focused Hypotheses
8.4. Extensions to Existing Ecological and Social Science Theories
8.4.1. Conservation Biology and Soundscape Ecology
8.4.2. Synergies between Spatial Ecologies and Biophonic Patterns
8.4.3. Extending Sense of Place Frameworks to Include Soundscapes
8.4.4. CHANS, TEK, and Soundscapes
8.4.5. Derived Benefits of Natural Soundscapes
8.4.6. Soundscapes and Principles of Natural Resource Management
8.4.7. Soundscapes as Common Pool Resources
Summary
Discussion Questions

Part III: Methods

Chapter 9: Measuring the Soundscape
9.1. Passive Acoustic Recorders
9.1.1. Standard Architecture
9.1.2. Deployment Considerations
9.2. Recording Parameters
9.3. Sensor Networks and Sensor Arrays
9.4. Soundscape Indices
9.4.1. Intensity Indices
9.4.2. Acoustic Events and Features
9.4.3. Acoustic Indices
9.4.4. Sound Types
9.5. Aural Annotation
9.5.1. Aims of Annotation Methods
9.5.2. Annotation Settings
9.5.3. Visualizing Long-Term Recordings
9.5.4. Soundscape Content
9.5.5. Perceptions
9.5.6. Qualitative Information
9.5.7. Bias
9.6. Phases, Transitions, Triggers, and Cycles of Soundscapes
9.7. Supplemental In Situ Survey Data
9.7.1. Animal Surveys
9.7.2. Vegetation Surveys
9.8. Quantifying the Landscape for Soundscape Research
9.8.1. Quantifying Landscape Structure and Dynamics
9.8.2. Associating Landscapes with Soundscapes
9.8.3. Acoustic Phenology Models
9.9. Qualitative Methods: Measuring Soundscape Perception
9.9.1. Key Terms
9.9.2. Grounded Theory
9.9.3. Knowledge Co-production
9.9.4. Interviews
9.9.5. Soundwalks
9.9.6. Surveys and Questionnaires
9.9.7. Participant Observation
9.9.8. Mapping Cultural Places
9.9.9. Ethical Considerations for Qualitative Research
9.10. Mixed Methods
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 10: Analyzing Soundscape Data
10.1. Data Cleansing
10.2. Data Characterization
10.2.1. Univariate, Bivariate, and Multivariate Analyses
10.2.2. Visualizing Trends
10.3. Reduction of Dimensionality
10.3.1. Linear Dimensionality Reduction Models
10.3.2. Nonlinear Dimensionality Reduction Models
10.4. Data Sampling
10.4.1. Simple Random Sampling
10.4.2. Stratified Random Sampling
10.4.3. Cluster Sampling
10.4.4. Systematic Sampling
10.4.5. k-Fold Sampling
10.5. Data Mining
10.5.1. Classification
10.5.2. Clustering
10.5.3. Association Analytics
10.5.4. Time Series
10.6. General Predictive Analytics
10.6.1. Predictive Modeling Phases
10.6.2. Accuracy Metrics for Predictive Models
10.7. Narrative Analysis
10.7.1. Key Terms
10.7.2. Textual Data Mining
10.7.3. Content Analysis
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Part IV: Applications

Chapter 11: Terrestrial Applications
11.1. Acoustic Indices: Assessments
11.2. Landscape-Soundscape Relationships
11.3. Soundscape Research in Support of Biodiversity Assessments
11.4. Soundscapes, Wildlife, People, and Noise in Protected Areas
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 12: Aquatic Soundscape Ecology
12.1. Brief History of Acoustic Monitoring of Oceans
12.2. Importance of Sound to Aquatic Organisms and Other Considerations
12.3. Acoustic Indices: Assessments in Marine Systems
12.4. Assessments of Freshwater Soundscapes
12.5. Noise in Aquatic Systems and in Marine Protected Areas
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 13: Urban Soundscapes
13.1. Major Sources of Sound in the Urban Soundscape: Working Taxonomies
13.2. Patterns of Sounds in the Urban Landscape               
13.3. Measuring and Understanding Human Perceptions of the Urban Landscape
13.4. Urban Planning and Soundscapes
13.4.1. Global Guidelines
13.4.2. European Union’s Environmental Noise Directive
13.4.3. United States Noise Control and Abatement Act of 1972
13.4.4. Other Countries
13.4.5. Research on Soundscape Planning in Urban Landscapes
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

Chapter 14: Sociocultural Soundscapes
14.1. Acoustic Ecology and the World Soundscape Project
14.2. Soundscape Composers
14.3. Soundscape Composition and Ethnography              
14.4. Sonification of Data
14.4.1. Digital Sonification
14.4.2. Instrumental Sonification
14.5. Sonic Ecologies: A Multidisciplinary Framework for Public Engagement
14.6. Ecoethnomusicology
14.6.1. Ecomusicology and Ecoethnomusicology
14.6.2. Case Studies in Ecoethnomusicology
14.7. Environmental Psychology and Soundscapes
14.7.1. Attention Restoration Theory and Soundscapes
14.7.2. Nature Relatedness and Soundscapes
Summary
Discussion Questions
Further Reading

References
Index

Editorial Reviews

“This book significantly extends the application of soundscape concepts, methodologies, and tools to the analysis, characterization, and interpretation of very different environments. A distinctive contribution.

Lex Brown

“Principles of Soundscape Ecology responds to a growing need for grounding this field in standardized terminology and practice, as well as providing inspiration for research avenues in transdisciplinary collaborations. It will be eagerly plucked off digital and university library shelves.

Rose Keller