Role of standards in ASA: Animal bioacoustics

Abstract

Animal bioacoustics (AB) is a participant in ASACOS committee S3, Bioacoustics, and has one working group S3/WG90. However, standards that could be written for animals cut across committee boundaries, from development of terminology (S1), to specification of audiometric methods (S2), to hearing conservation programs (S12). From a biologist’s perspective, there will be a fundamental difference between developing AB standards and those that have been published during the 75-year history of ASA—instead of focusing on one species, Homo sapiens, AB standards will be applied to many, even if data are available for only a few. Given the intensive research dedicated to establishing the existing standards for H. sapiens, the task ahead appears daunting. How should standards for thousands of species be specified? How should the standards process include a measure critical for wild animals, population sustainability? Writers of AB standards must apply a powerful conceptual tool, the comparative approach, and must design standards to incorporate new data quickly. Funding sources must recognize the need for these approaches. If they do, the standards developed will be marketable; it is also likely that important new perspectives on human bioacoustics will emerge.