Abstract
Acoustic ecology, or ecoacoustics, is a growing field that uses sound as a tool to evaluate animal communities. In this manuscript, we evaluate recordings from eight tropical forest sites that vary in species richness, from a relatively low diversity Caribbean forest to a megadiverse Amazonian forest, with the goal of understanding the relationship between acoustic space use (ASU) and species diversity across different taxonomic groups. For each site, we determined the acoustic morphospecies richness and composition of the biophony, and we used a global biodiversity dataset to estimate the regional richness of birds. Here, we demonstrate how detailed information on activity patterns of the acoustic community (<22 kHz) can easily be visualized and ASU determined by aggregating recordings collected over relatively short periods (4–13 days). We show a strong positive relationship between ASU and regional and acoustic morphospecies richness. Premontane forest sites had the highest ASU and the highest species richness, while dry forest and montane sites had lower ASU and lower species richness. Furthermore, we show that insect richness was the best predictor of variation in total ASU, and that insect richness was proportionally greater at high-diversity sites. In addition, insects used a broad range of frequencies, including high frequencies (>8000 Hz), which contributed to greater ASU. This novel approach for analyzing the presence and acoustic activity of multiple taxonomic groups contributes to our understanding of ecological community dynamics and provides a useful tool for monitoring species in the context of restoration ecology, climate change and conservation biology.
Highlights
Acoustic space is a limited resource that is used by all vocal species in a community [1,2] for species recognition [3], mate choice [4] and resource defense [5], but the frequencies used are restricted by body size, phylogeny, habitat structure, and biotic and abiotic sounds in the habitat [6,7,8]
Acoustic morphospecies richness had a strong positive correlation with the percent acoustic space use (ASU) in the eight sites (Table 2, Figure 2a, Spearman rank correlation coefficient = 0.85, p = 0.01)
Bird regional richness had a strong positive correlation with the percent ASU in the eight sites (Table 2, Figure 2b, Spearman rank correlation coefficient = 0.85, p = 0.01)
Summary
Acoustic space is a limited resource that is used by all vocal species in a community [1,2] for species recognition [3], mate choice [4] and resource defense [5], but the frequencies used are restricted by body size, phylogeny, habitat structure, and biotic and abiotic sounds in the habitat [6,7,8]. Camera trapping is a non-invasive method that has been used extensively, but it mainly detects medium to large mammals, and has a very limited detection range [23] Acoustic monitoring, another remote-sensing technique, is a complimentary approach that can detect organisms that produce acoustic signals from a broad area, detection area depends on landscape features and vegetation structure [24,25], as well as the amplitude and frequency of sounds emitted [26]. We propose an alternative approach that describes how acoustic space is being used, how much of the time/frequency domain is being used and what are the sources of the sounds
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