Does invasion have a sound?
One of the elements of nature we enjoy, maybe without knowing it, is the way it sounds. Soundscapes comprise the broad range of sounds in a location that include the biophony, geophony, and anthrophony—the study of which is an emerging discipline. Changes to soundscapes can portend changes to biodiversity, human impacts, or as we contend, invasion. We have become acutely aware of the broad range of impacts invasive species have to the environment, economy, and human well-being. But there may be important impacts that remain poorly characterized, especially ones we cannot see—the way a place sounds.
In some cases, the invasive species themselves bring new sounds to a place. The invasive coqui frogs in Hawaii have become a auditory nuisance to residents, while American bullfrog choruses may be changing mating behaviors of native tree frogs in Arizona [hear the accompanying audio clip and image of a ‘tank’ they have invaded].
However, we contend that even non sound-making species can change native soundscapes through a variety of mechanisms [see figure from our paper]
Invasive plants may be changing the habitat for native or introduced sound-making amphibians, insects, birds, and mammals, or modifying their behavior. Structural changes from invasive plants may alter soundscapes as well – consider the curtains of kudzu in the US Southeast. Fortunately, collecting [see photo of microphone] soundscapes is easy and relatively inexpensive [see PAM photo], though analyzing and interpreting these massive datasets is the vanguard of invasive species impacts [see spectrogram].
While still an emerging discipline, integrating impacts to soundscapes may open new understandings of ecological impacts that are also important to our love of a way a place sounds when in nature. Are invasive species the new silent, (or perhaps) loud, spring?
Jacob Barney
Professor and Director of the Invasive Species Collaborative, Virginia Tech, [email protected]
Reference
Barney, J.N., O'Malley, G., Ripa, G.N., Drake, J., Franusich, D. and Mims, M.C. (2024), A silent spring, or a new cacophony? Invasive plants as maestros of modern soundscapes. Front Ecol Environ, 22: e2729. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2729
Does invasion have a sound?
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