Introductions to Acoustic Ecology

Acoustic Ecology is a term coined in the early 1970s, emerging largely from the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. The writings of R. Murray Schafer, most notably A Sound Education and The Tuning of the World (reissued as The Soundscape), have provided a foundation from which several distinct yet related threads have grown.

Prominent themes in acoustic ecology today are:

• The effect of soundscapes on humans, in cities, nature, and buildings, including urban planning and architectural design that takes sound into account.
• Ways to become more aware of the sounds we are making, so we can make these choices more consciously.
• Reflection on the soundscapes we encounter day to day.
• The effects of human sounds on wildlife.
• The “right to quiet,” which comes into play in wild lands recreation debates about motorized use, as well as in urban settings.
• The idea of acoustic windows or acoustic niches, employed by various species in a given habitat to avoid masking each other’s vocalizations.

Short introductions from AE.org - Three short overviews to get you oriented: Acoustic ecology in the classroom and the field, simple exercises in Acoustic ecology, and using soundscape recordings in the classroom. [GO THERE]

An introduction to acoustic ecology - a journal article by Kendell Wrightson which provides an in-depth introducton to the history and scope of the field of acoustic ecology as developed since its origins in the 1970's. [WEB SITE]

An introduction to oceanic acoustics - Web presentation by Lisa Walker, featuring the physics of human sound and hearing, human sonic contructs (language, poetry, rhythm and music), underwater physics and adaptation, and interspecies communication. Appropriate for middle school to adults. [WEB SITE]

Sons de Mar - Overview of ocean bioacoustics and anthropogenic noise sources, presented in an educational format. A nice graphic "Presentation" allows students to click and hear a variety of whales and human noise sources. From the Applied Bioacoustics Laboratory. [GO THERE]