Nocturnal peace at a Conservation Center for Species Survival?

Abstract

E.O. Wilson suggested that the natural world is the most information-rich acoustic environment, especially for animals and indigenous peoples, and that is directly and indirectly essential to their survival (Wilson, 1984, Biophilia, Harvard University Press). Agriculturalists still value and constantly monitor their soundscape since it provides invaluable cues that may lead to success or failure. Krause reports that healthy natural soundscapes comprise a myriad of biophony, and indeed the ecological health of a region can be measured by its diverse voices (Krause, 1987, “Bio-acoustics: Habitat ambience & ecological balance,” Whole Earth Rev.). But do such soundscapes fall silent for much of the night? And are there extensive periods of silence at a highly successful Conservation Center for Species Survival? This study analyzes the soundscape continuously recorded at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas for a week during Fall 2013, to determine the prevalence of quiet periods and the acoustic environment in which such periods appeared to occur.