Colgate University
IN-48: Innovation B

An ecosystem is characterized by a number of geographic and biological factors, but often overlooked is the role of sound in an ecosystem. Soundscape ecology is the study of the acoustic component of an ecosystem, which is made up of three types of sound: natural sound generated by living organisms (biophony), natural sound not generated by living organisms (geophony), and sound generated by humans (anthrophony). These sounds, their sources, and their interactions can often reveal important information about the environment. As Colgate University expands spatially with new buildings and temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, soundscapes can tell us how these changes impact the levels of biodiversity and abundance in the forested land surrounding the campus. Thus, by recording and analyzing the soundscapes of Colgate University’s forests, we can measure the health of this land and track changes that occur over time. While many organisms can be heard in these soundscape recordings, the most acoustically prominent are migratory songbirds that reside in the forests during the summer. As a result, we collected recordings with the intention of focusing on the vocalisations of birds.  We used microphones to gather soundscape recordings from specific locations in the forests surrounding Colgate University at dawn and dusk, the times of the day when birds are most vocal. Using the statistical software R, we computed indices for measuring biodiversity and the levels of anthropogenic disturbance within the forest. We found that as temperatures rose across the summer season, the levels of bioacoustic activity decreased within each recording. Implications of rising temperatures due to climate change may further silence these ecosystems.

This summer was the first year that faculty, staff, and student researchers recorded the soundscape of the Colgate Forest. This is a longitudinal study that will take for an indefinite amount of time.