02584nas a2200253 4500008004100000022001400041245011900055210006900174260001600243520178700259653001802046653001602064653001302080653002602093653001402119653002202133653002702155653001902182653001502201653001602216100002202232700002002254856005602274 2019 eng d a0921-297300aThe quantitative relation between ambient soundscapes and landscape development intensity in North Central Florida0 aquantitative relation between ambient soundscapes and landscape  cNov-11-20203 a

Context

It is widely accepted that wildlife is subjected to detrimental human noise within urban landscapes but little is known about how the intensity of land use changes soundscapes.

Objectives

The objective of this research was to produce quantitative associations between characteristics of ambient soundscapes and land use intensity. These relations were used to examine the 2 kHz demarcation between anthrophony and biophony and compare the impact of different sized contributing areas on ambient soundscape characteristics.

Methods

This study related the surrounding land use intensity of 67 sites in north central Florida (USA) to several metrics describing their recorded soundscapes. Land use intensity was measured remotely at three scales using the landscape development intensity index (LDI).

Results

The analysis revealed that the LDI index had a statistically significant effect on soundscape characteristics after controlling for important factors such as climate, season, and attenuation due to hard ground. The trends between LDI and soundscape confirmed that human generated sounds are loud, continuous, and occupy low frequencies. The evenness of the sound distribution decreased with landscape intensity and LDI correlated significantly with sound below 3 kHz. Land use intensity within a 100 and 500-m radius contributing area were most closely related to soundscape metrics.

Conclusions

LDI is a tool with the potential to predict the extent and intensity of anthropogenic noise disturbance on wildlife from remote sensing data. The utility of this tool allows for widespread application to identify and mitigate conflicts in the acoustic realm between human noise and wildlife.

10aAmbient sound10aAnthrophony10abiophony10aDevelopment intensity10aLDI index10aNoise disturbance10aPower spectral density10aRemote sensing10aSoundscape10aTechnophony1 aDooley, Jenet, M.1 aBrown, Mark, T. uhttp://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10980-019-00936-202270nas a2200169 4500008004100000245005500041210005500096520175100151653001801902653002401920653001501944653001001959653002101969100001801990700002502008856006702033 2019 eng d00aExploring the soundscape of small freshwater lakes0 aExploring the soundscape of small freshwater lakes3 a

Monitoring freshwater ecosystems using passive acoustics is a largely unexplored approach, despite having the potential to yield information about the biological, geological and anthropogenic activity of a lake or river system. The state of Minnesota, located in the upper Midwest of the USA and nicknamed ‘land of 10,000 lakes’, provides an interesting case study for soundscape research, because lakes offer ecological, recreational and economic value throughout the area. The underwater soundscape was monitored at fifteen small lakes <10 km2 on representative days in winter (during 100% ice cover) and summer 2018 using a hydrophone suspended 2 m below the water's surface. Median broadband sound pressure level (100–12,000 Hz) was significantly lower in winter (57.2 dB re 1μPa) compared to summer (66.7 dB re 1μPa), possibly because low frequency wind sounds were reduced in winter. Recordings suggest small freshwater lakes in Minnesota have a relatively pristine soundscape, where vocalizing aquatic animals may hold acoustic niches. However, sound from anthropogenic activity was also present in the study lakes. Ice auger and motorboat sound increased the intensity of the soundscape by 10 dB and overlapped the frequency range (300–1000 Hz) of biological sounds in the environment, that may be important to aquatic life. Understanding current baseline sound levels in ecologically significant freshwater lakes, like those in this study, is the first step in determining any potential consequences of anthropogenic sound. Moving forward, baseline sound levels provide vital evidence for scientists and governing bodies to make proactive decisions for soundscape conservation.

10aAmbient sound10aanthropogenic noise10afreshwater10aLakes10aunderwater sound1 aPutland, R.L.1 aMensinger, Allen, F. uhttps://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1574954119303292