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Modified from the cover of <em >The Sounds of Life</em>
Opinion: Listening to the Biosphere Is Key Step in Saving It
New insights into the functionality of nonhuman sound may help us conserve nature and protect ourselves from excessive noise.
Opinion: Listening to the Biosphere Is Key Step in Saving It
Opinion: Listening to the Biosphere Is Key Step in Saving It

New insights into the functionality of nonhuman sound may help us conserve nature and protect ourselves from excessive noise.

New insights into the functionality of nonhuman sound may help us conserve nature and protect ourselves from excessive noise.

bioacoustics

<em >Lymantria&nbsp;</em>species make ultrasonic, mechanical rasping noises when they hear bats nearby.&nbsp;
Many Moths Speak Up to Ward Off Bats
Connor Lynch | Dec 1, 2022 | 5 min read
A decade-long, multicontinent study suggests that acoustic defense strategies are more common among moths than previously imagined.
Three turtles resting closely together on a log, one end of which is submerged in brackish water
Turtle Vocalizations Reframe Origins of Auditory Communication
Amanda Heidt | Oct 26, 2022 | 4 min read
Sounds made by more than 50 vertebrates previously thought to be mute push back the origin of this type of communication by at least 100 million years, a study finds.
A school of juvenile spiny chromis (Acanthochromis polycanthus)
Human-Made Noise Disrupts Fish Parenting
Christie Wilcox, PhD | May 23, 2022 | 3 min read
The roar of nearby boat engines alters how fish care for and protect their young, resulting in fewer successful nests and smaller offspring, a study finds.
Photo of fish in the Haemulidae family
Fish Are Chattier Than Previously Thought
Connor Lynch | May 2, 2022 | 5 min read
Once thought to be silent, fish turn out to produce a range of vocalizations—so polluting the oceans with noise could pose a danger to them.
Photo of krill and plankton in the sea, macro detail
Fear Could Help Explain the Behavior of Animals in the Ocean
Catherine Offord | Jan 4, 2022 | 2 min read
Avoidance of predation is a driving force behind the daily movements of marine creatures across the food web, a study concludes.
Conceptual image of an embryo with sound waves
Embryonic Eavesdropping: How Animals Hear and Respond to Sound
Amanda Heidt | Nov 1, 2021 | 10+ min read
Recent findings buck the traditional idea that embryos are passive agents and instead suggest that by tuning into vibrations, organisms can better prepare to enter the outside world.
Balaenoptera physalus, fin whale, seismology, acoustic, earthquake, recordings, ocean
Whale Song Echoes Help Scientists Map the Ocean Floor
Asher Jones | Feb 12, 2021 | 2 min read
By analyzing how fin whale calls bounce off the seafloor, scientists can recreate ocean crust layers.
Previously Unknown Beaked Whale Species Spotted off Mexico
Max Kozlov | Dec 12, 2020 | 2 min read
A team of scientists searching for a rare species of whale instead found a species of whale they say has never been recorded.
Tom Norris, Bio-Wave, obituary, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, whales, dolphins, marine mammal, acoustics, hydrophone, conservation, surveys, Navy, NOAA
Tom Norris, Marine Mammal Acoustician, Dies at 55
Amanda Heidt | Sep 18, 2020 | 3 min read
Norris, who founded the research firm Bio-Waves, furthered the study of marine mammals using passive acoustic monitoring technology he designed himself.
Birds Warn Unborn Chicks About Warmer Weather
Alison F. Takemura | Aug 22, 2016 | 2 min read
Zebra finches sing a special song that appears to help their offspring better adapt to a hotter climate, according to a study.
A Rainforest Chorus
Karen Zusi | Dec 1, 2015 | 5 min read
Researchers measure the health of Papua New Guinea’s forests by analyzing the ecological soundscape.
Jungle Field Trip
The Scientist | Nov 30, 2015 | 1 min read
Travel to remote rain forests in Papua New Guinea with researchers from The Nature Conservancy who are working with native people to characterize ecosystems there using sound.
A Fishy Chorus
The Scientist | Aug 31, 2015 | 1 min read
Watch the coelacanth documentary that fish biologist Eric Parmentier and filmmaker Laurent Ballesta were making when they discovered and recorded a world of undersea sound.
The Whale That Quacked
Kerry Grens | Apr 23, 2014 | 2 min read
An oceanic quacking sound—unidentified for 50 years—turns out to be minke whales.
Cetacean Cacophony
Chris Palmer | Sep 1, 2013 | 4 min read
Seafloor seismometers record hundreds of thousands of fin whale calls, allowing marine geophysicists to track the elusive marine mammals.
Hearing Whales
Chris Palmer | Aug 31, 2013 | 1 min read
A geophysicist stumbled on a way to track elusive fin whales with seismometers.
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