Acoustic monitoring detects behavior changes before abundance statistics do.

Evidence

The effects of human activities on animal populations of wild areas are evaluated generally in term of abundance and distribution. In reality, however, local effects create modification of behavior and of reproductive activity as well. Short-term changes in behavior can produce on a larger time scale effects on abundance and distribution, and consequently it seems important to have access to this information in time to modify policies and management strategies. The acoustic method allows detecting local subtle changes in behavior that may have effects on long-term and large spatial range. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 1416

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: behavioral acoustics as an early-warning system — why measuring abundance and distribution is too slow to guide policy.
• XREF: connects to: Pile-driving injures dolphin ears only within 100 m but alters behavior 50 km away — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1350; Forest elephants shifted to nocturnal activity undetected by conventional censuses. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1422; Ecoacoustic surveys follow a standardized recording-analysis workflow — Bernie Krause and Almo Farina, Using Ecoacoustic Methods to Survey the…, 77 (+1 more)