Landscape Ecology Soundscapes reveal disturbance impacts: biophonic response to wildfire in the Sonoran Desert Sky Islands

Gasc, Amandine, Gottesman, Benjamin, Francomano, Dante, Jung, Jinha, Durham, Mark, Mateljak, Jason and Pijanowski, Bryan (2018) Landscape Ecology Soundscapes reveal disturbance impacts: biophonic response to wildfire in the Sonoran Desert Sky Islands. Landscape Ecology, 33 (8). pp. 1399-1415. ISSN Online ISSN 1572-9761

Abstract

Context. While remote sensing imagery is effective at quantifying changes to land cover across large areas, its utility for directly assessing the response of animals to disturbance is limited.Soundscapes approaches—the recording and analysis of sounds in a landscape—could address this shortcoming. Objectives. In 2011, a massive wildfire referred to as “the Horseshoe 2 Burn” occurred in the Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona. We evaluated the impact of this wildfire on acoustic activity of animal communities two years after the event. Methods. In 2013, 49 981 soundscape recordings were collected over 9 months in 12 burned and 12 non-burned sites in four major ecological systems. The seasonal and diel biological acoustic activity was described using the “Bioacoustic Index”, a detailed aural analysis of sounds by source, and a new tool called “Sonic Timelapse Builder” (STLB). Results. Seasonal biophony phenology showed a diurnal peak in June and a nocturnal peak in October in all ecological systems. In June, higher acoustic activity was observed in three of four ecological systems at non-burned sites. This difference was associated with the presence of cicadas (Cicadidae spp.), which were favored by the presence of living trees at non-burned sites. In October, higher orthopteran activity was observed at some burned sites, probably linked to low vegetation emerging at an early successional stage of post-fire response. Conclusions. Soundscape approaches can help address long-term conservation issues involving the responses of animal communities to wildfire. Acoustic methods can serve as a valuable complement to remote sensing for disturbance-based landscape management.

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