Work

Extending Species‐Area Relationships Into the Realm of Ecoacoustics: The Soundscape‐Area Relationship

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The rise in species richness with area is one of the few ironclad ecological relationships. Yet, little is known about the spatial scaling of alternative dimensions of diversity. Here, we provide empirical evidence for a relationship between the richness of acoustic traits emanating from a landscape, or soundscape richness, and island area, which we term the SoundScape-Area Relationship (SSAR). We show a positive relationship between the gamma soundscape richness and island area. This relationship breaks down at the smallest spatial scales, indicating a small-island effect. Moreover, we demonstrate a positive spatial scaling of the plot-scale alpha soundscape richness, but not the beta soundscape turnover, suggesting a direct effect of species on acoustic trait diversity. We conclude that the general scaling of biodiversity can be extended into the realm of ecoacoustics, implying soundscape metrics are sensitive to fundamental ecological patterns and useful in disentangling their complex mechanistic drivers.

Source: Ecology Letters

DOI: 10.1111/ele.14529

Authors: Thomas Luypaert, Anderson S. Bueno, Torbjørn Haugaasen, Carlos A. Peres

Institutions: Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Instituto Federal Farroupilha, University of East Anglia

Language: English

Topic: Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,250