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Human contributions to global soundscapes are less predictable than the acoustic rhythms of wildlife

Somervuo, Panu ; Roslin, Tomas ; Fisher, Brian L. ; Hardwick, Bess ; Kerdraon, Deirdre ; Raharinjanahary, Dimby ; Rajoelison, Eric Tsiriniaina ; Lauha, Patrik ; Griem, Lukas and Lehikoinen, Petteri LU orcid , et al. (2025) In Nature Ecology and Evolution
Abstract

Across the world, human (anthropophonic) sounds add to sounds of biological (biophonic) and geophysical (geophonic) origin, with human contributions including both speech and technophony (sounds of technological devices). To characterize society’s contribution to the global soundscapes, we used passive acoustic recorders at 139 sites across 6 continents, sampling both urban green spaces and nearby pristine sites continuously for 3 years in a paired design. Recordings were characterized by bird species richness and by 14 complementary acoustic indices. By relating each index to seasonal, diurnal, climatic and anthropogenic factors, we show here that latitude, time of day and day of year each predict a substantial proportion of variation... (More)

Across the world, human (anthropophonic) sounds add to sounds of biological (biophonic) and geophysical (geophonic) origin, with human contributions including both speech and technophony (sounds of technological devices). To characterize society’s contribution to the global soundscapes, we used passive acoustic recorders at 139 sites across 6 continents, sampling both urban green spaces and nearby pristine sites continuously for 3 years in a paired design. Recordings were characterized by bird species richness and by 14 complementary acoustic indices. By relating each index to seasonal, diurnal, climatic and anthropogenic factors, we show here that latitude, time of day and day of year each predict a substantial proportion of variation in key metrics of biophony—whereas anthropophony (speech and traffic) show less predictable patterns. Compared to pristine sites, the soundscape of urban green spaces is more dominated by technophony and less diverse in terms of acoustic energy across frequencies and time steps, with less instances of quiet. We conclude that the global soundscape is formed from a highly predictable rhythm in biophony, with added noise from geophony and anthropophony. At urban sites, animals experience an increasingly noisy background of sound, which poses challenges to efficient communication.

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Nature Ecology and Evolution
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Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:105010256142
  • pmid:40634696
ISSN
2397-334X
DOI
10.1038/s41559-025-02786-5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
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Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.
id
9bf3f128-486e-4010-8138-5fe4e571cc93
date added to LUP
2025-08-26 16:05:15
date last changed
2025-09-01 10:44:36
@article{9bf3f128-486e-4010-8138-5fe4e571cc93,
  abstract     = {{<p>Across the world, human (anthropophonic) sounds add to sounds of biological (biophonic) and geophysical (geophonic) origin, with human contributions including both speech and technophony (sounds of technological devices). To characterize society’s contribution to the global soundscapes, we used passive acoustic recorders at 139 sites across 6 continents, sampling both urban green spaces and nearby pristine sites continuously for 3 years in a paired design. Recordings were characterized by bird species richness and by 14 complementary acoustic indices. By relating each index to seasonal, diurnal, climatic and anthropogenic factors, we show here that latitude, time of day and day of year each predict a substantial proportion of variation in key metrics of biophony—whereas anthropophony (speech and traffic) show less predictable patterns. Compared to pristine sites, the soundscape of urban green spaces is more dominated by technophony and less diverse in terms of acoustic energy across frequencies and time steps, with less instances of quiet. We conclude that the global soundscape is formed from a highly predictable rhythm in biophony, with added noise from geophony and anthropophony. At urban sites, animals experience an increasingly noisy background of sound, which poses challenges to efficient communication.</p>}},
  author       = {{Somervuo, Panu and Roslin, Tomas and Fisher, Brian L. and Hardwick, Bess and Kerdraon, Deirdre and Raharinjanahary, Dimby and Rajoelison, Eric Tsiriniaina and Lauha, Patrik and Griem, Lukas and Lehikoinen, Petteri and Niittynen, Pekka and Piirainen, Esko and Lumme, Markus and Riihikoski, Ville Matti and Acevedo-Charry, Orlando and Adalsteinsson, Solny A. and Ahmad, Maaz and Alcobia, Sandra and Aldará, Jón and Andrew, Nigel R. and Anslan, Sten and Antonelli, Alexandre and Arena, Julieta Soledad and Arroyo Almeida, Santiago and Aster, Ines and Autto, Hannu and Aviles Gamboa, Anahi and Baixeras, Joaquín and Baldauf, Mario and Balestrieri, Rosario and Banelyte, Gaia Giedre and Barrett, Adrian and Beja, Pedro and Berg, Thomas Olof and Bergerot, Benjamin and Biro, Elizabeth G. and Blendinger, Pedro G. and Bollache, Loïc and Bou Dagher Kharrat, Magda and Boyer, Stephane and Bridell, Erika and Brotherson, Martyn and Brown, Leslie Robert and Buckley, Hannah L. and Buscardo, Erika and Buthelezi, Nokuphila and Cagnolo, Luciano and Calvente, Alice and Capobianco, Giovanni and Carreón-Palau, Laura and Carriere, Suzanne and Case, Bradley S. and Chang, Jenyu and Chaparro, Juan Matías and Chen, Chi Ling and Chicoine, Christine and Christensson, Madeleine and Collado Rosique, Francisco and Colom Montero, William and da Fonseca, Ricardo do Sacramento and Da Silva, Luís P. and Dal Molin, Anamaria and Dallas, Tad and de Francesco, Maria Carla and Del Ángel-Rodríguez, Jorge Arturo and Díaz-Delgado, Ricardo and Dirnböck, Thomas and Djukic, Ika and Dladla, Philile and Domínguez Masciale, Jeremías and Dorigo, Thiago and Douwes, Errol and Ekrem, Torbjørn and Enderskog, Helena and Erefur, Charlotta and Fahad, Muhammad and Falahati-Anbaran, Mohsen and Farrell, Arielle and Ferland, Gabriel and Ferrari, Emanuele and Figueiredo, Axa and Forero, Fernando and Freiberga, Inga and Frosch-Radivo, Andrea and Ganchozo Intriago, Luis Alberto and Garzoli, Laura and Giacomotti, Paola and Gianuca, Andros T. and Gilg, Olivier and Gilg, Vladimir and Gísladóttir, Fanney and Glowacki, Ryan and Gottsberger, Brigitte and Gregoire, Jocelyn and Groner, Elli and Guedes, Patrícia and Guile, Aimee Michelle and Haase, Peter and Hadi, Fazal and Haidegger, Magdalena and Hansen, Leivur Janus and Hansen, Lars Holst and Harrop, Reid and Havnås, Harald and Herrera Báez, David and Ho, Chris C.Y. and Hohenbühel, Denise and Houska Tahadlova, Marketa and Hänninen, Jari and Höglund, Linda and Í Haraldsstovu, Kolbrún and Imbeau, Elise and Inkinen, Jasmin and Ishihara, Masae Iwamoto and Jackson, Abigail C. and Jansson, Gunnar and Jha, Rohit and Kager, Gerald and Kahale, Rhea and Kalttopää, Oula and Karai, Elizabeth Wanjiru and Karlsson, Dave and Kaus-Thiel, Andrea and Khan, Asghar and Khan, Qaisar and Kimoto, Keishi and Kipngetich, Shadrack Chumo and Klante, Clemens and Klemedtsson, Leif and Klinth, Mårten and Koskinen, Janne and Kotakorpi, Matti and Kreiling, Agnes Katharina and Krisai-Greilhuber, Irmgard and Kristensen, Erik and König, Sebastian and Langenheder, Silke and Laurila, Kalevi and Le Gouar, Pascaline and Lecomte, Nicolas and Lecomte, Erin and Leitman, Paula Moraes and León-Cortés, Jorge L. and Li, Daijiang and Loehr, John and Lopez-Vaamonde, Carlos and Makari, Mehsen and Mangini, Gabriela Giselle and Maroschek, Michael and Mata, Vanessa A. and Matsuoka, Shunsuke and Mazzafera, Thais and McDonald, Paul G. and Meinert, Laura and Meléndez-González, Mayra and Mendoza-Henao, Angela M. and Moreau, Sebastien and Moreau, Jérôme and Mosbacher, Jesper and Moyer, Esteban and Mrazova, Anna and Mteshane, Samantha and Mungai, Nancy Wangari and Muñoz Herraiz, Gema and Murillo-Vázquez, Andrea and Musazzi, Simona and Mutanen, Marko and Müller, Jörg and Navarro Canales, Rebeca and Ndlovu, Monica and Nicolai, Annegret and Niessner, Armin and Nordén, Jenni and Nowak, Paweł and O’Connell, Erin and Orru, Arianna and Pagnon, Thomas and Pantoja-Diaz, Yurani Nayive and Pentinsaari, Mikko and Pilloni, Sebastian and Pinder, Adrian and Pinheiro, Thiago A. and Põlme, Sergei and Powell, Luke L. and Pröll, Gisela and Pulido-Santacruz, Paola and Queralt, Enrique and Quilantang, Mark Tristan and Quinlan, Kirsty and Ramirez, Ricardo and Rankinen, Juha and Rasino, Micaela Del Valle and Rebelo, Rui and Remmers, Wolfram and Retz, Franziska and Reyes, Evelin and Rivas Torres, Gonzalo and Rogers, Hanna M.K. and Rosário, Inês T. and Rosário Da Rosàrio da Costa, Sidney and Rütting, Tobias and Sahlstén, Johannes and Saliba, Carole and Salmirinne, Teppo and Sam, Katerina and Santos, Douglas and Santos-Reis, Margarida and Sawan, Michel and Schattanek-Wiesmair, Benjamin and Schiestl-Aalto, Pauliina and Schmidt, Niels Martin and Seibold, Sebastian and Seidl, Rupert and Seifert, Linda and Sithole, Malibongwe and Sivault, Elise and Smart, Jessica and Smerczyński, Ireneusz and Soda, Ayaka and Sousa-Lima, Renata S. and Stanisci, Angela and Stanley, Margaret C. and Steenkamp, Daleen and Stengel, Elisa and Stoll, Stefan and Strauss, Willem Maartin and Stur, Elisabeth and Sujala, Maija and Sundell, Janne and Svavarsdóttir, Jónína and Tedersoo, Leho and Tepsa, Saana and Tikochinsky, Maor Tiko and Tuominen, Esa Pekka and Tweraser, Stefanie and Ulloa Espinosa, Catalina and Uusitalo, Joni and Vallinmäki, Mikko and Vannier, Fabrice and Varela, Abigail and Vatka, Emma and Veikkolainen, Silja and Vernes, Karl and Watts, Phillip C. and Weslien, Per and Wirth, Ciara and Wisniewski, Jana Helga and Young, Amanda B. and Övergaard, Robyn and Ovaskainen, Otso}},
  issn         = {{2397-334X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature Ecology and Evolution}},
  title        = {{Human contributions to global soundscapes are less predictable than the acoustic rhythms of wildlife}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02786-5}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41559-025-02786-5}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}