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It isn’t feasible for human researchers to continuously monitor an environment day after day for years, especially in habitats that are difficult or dangerous to access. Additionally, it’s difficult to mitigate the costs and risks of manual data collection without limiting the quantity and range of data gathered.
Manual data collection relies heavily on the skill and experience level of the observer. In other words, data is limited by what an individual can observe – lacking true objectivity and increasing risk for errors in data.
Individual species may be difficult to detect, and certain habitats may be challenging to access with interactive research techniques, limiting the quantity and range of data observations.
Acoustic monitoring is an efficient, cost-effective way to sample large swaths of land with numerous and diverse habitats – providing permanent records of animal vocalisations. Recorders allow you to monitor entire soundscapes at once over extended periods of time, overcoming the human limitations of manual data collection.
Because they can be reviewed many times by experts, soundscape recordings are a reliable way to assess the condition of landscapes and seascapes – even more so than field surveys, which have inherent bias. Recordings captured during all times of day allow us to rethink how we measure the biodiversity of a place through time. And since many sound sources exist in nature, soundscapes have become universal measures of change – expanding our horizons to ask new scientific questions.
For studies concerning habitat conservation or the relationship between natural and anthropogenic sounds, using an unattended recorder enables you to monitor entire ecosystems over time and space. One means by which this is accomplished is through the application of acoustic indices, which quantify the diversity and patterns of sounds in audio recordings.
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In the spirit of reconciliation, Faunatech acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.