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example, one of the most recent, organized by Almo Farina in Florence (14 June
2012
) under the aegis of Uniscape, has produced the Careggi Landscape Declara-
tion on Soundscapes (June 2012) (see Chap.
10
).
Definitively, soundscape ecology recognizes the integration of other scientific
disciplines such as acoustic ecology, landscape ecology, bioacoustics, urban and
environmental acoustics, behavioral ecology, and biosemiotics and appears to be a
promising field to investigate the role of the sonic ambience in maintaining vital
functions in animals and humans (Farina et al.
2011a
).
The soundscape, which means the sonic information that we collect in a place, is
today easier to record and process than in the recent past. Similar to images that can
be recorded with a digital compact camera, sound can be easily handled, stored,
reproduced, and processed outside its context.
Advanced digital technologies of field recording at low cost offer new tools to
investigate frequency and temporal patterns (such as Zoom H4, Zoom, JP;
Songmeter SM2, Wildlife Acoustics, MA, USA).
New metrics such as the acoustic entropy index (H) (Sueur et al.
2008
) and the
acoustic complexity index (ACI) (Pieretti et al.
2011
; Farina et al.
2011b
,
2012
),
supported by new remote sensing technologies (Bouzid et al.
2013
), are constantly
being tested (see Chap.
9
).
The complexity that emerges from the information which is contained in a
soundscape can be analyzed and interpreted by the application of functional models
such as the soundtope hypothesis (Farina et al.
2011a
), the acoustic niche hypothe-
sis (Krause
1993
), or the acoustic adaptation hypothesis (Morton
1975
). Many other
theories and hypotheses can also find room in the soundscape ecology framework,
and in Chap.
3
such theories are presented and discussed in detail.
Soundscape ecology can find several environmental applications such as assess-
ment of the environmental quality of parks and protected areas, urban planning and
design, ethology and anthropology, and finally in the long-term monitoring of the
effects of climatic changes in geophysical (the sonic prospection of vanishing
glaciers) and biological contexts (sonic dynamics of reproductive phenology).
The soundscape ecology coupled to a bioacoustics approach can explain the effects
of some landscape patterns such as edges, and size and shape of patches, on
vocalizing animals.
1.5 The Disciplinary Contribution to the
Soundscape Ecology
The study of the soundscape in terms of relationship with the abiotic and biotic
environment in the broadest perspective is a matter of ecology. This fact should not
be a surprise. Often ecology is used to investigate complex aspects of our environ-
ment because this science has robust and rigorous epistemic tools to face such a
challenge.
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