Biology Reference
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Fig. 1.10 The spatial overlap of geophonies, biophonies, and anthrophonies creates sonic patterns
or sonotopes. Every sonotope is characterized by a peculiar blend of sounds. The behavioral
processes connected with the acoustic performance of vocal animals create in turn distinct
soundtopes inside each sonotope
the sonotopes are the result of interscaled overlapping of geophonies, biophonies,
and anthrophonies.
We can expect that geophonies have the largest extension, which decreases for
biophones and finally for anthrophonies. As in the geographic landscape, sonotopes
can be characterized according to several sets of scales and according to the
approach and the purposes.
The sonotopes refer to the distribution in time and space of the different “sonic
patches” that reflects quality, disposition, occurrence time, and spatial overlap of
sound sources (geophonies, biophonies, and antrophonies) (Fig. 1.10 ).
The sonotopes may be considered patterns created by biotic and abiotic sonic
agents. Sonotopes become the areas in which some sonic characters are recognized
in space and time as distinct. The distribution of sound around a waterfall is an
example of a sonic pattern of abiotic origin.
Generally, sonic patterns are persistent in time and space, as the sound of a
waterfall, or cyclic, as the sounds of tidal waves or daily breezes, animal choruses,
and urban noises, but their persistence depends on the characteristic of the sonic
source.
Sonotopes become the planning unit of a soundscape, and each sonotope can
create feelings to meet the needs of the visitors or elicit their annoyance. Some
sonotopes can play the role of sonic refuges. In these refuges, the visitor identifies a
great variety of sounds that really represent an acoustic diversity.
Sonotopes can be identified spatially using a net of sound recorders and the
amount of acoustic energy and its quality can be mapped.
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