Biophony

Biophony is the collective sounds produced by living organisms in a given environment, forming a major component of the natural soundscape. The term was popularized in acoustic ecology by Bernie Krause in the 1990s, as part of a framework that distinguishes biophony (living sounds) from geophony (wind, water, rain) and anthropophony (human-made sounds). Biophony includes vocalizations and other sounds from birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, and aquatic organisms, and it varies with habitat, time of day, and season. Terrestrial biophony often features dawn choruses and nocturnal frog calls, while marine biophony includes whale songs and fish choruses.

Researchers study biophony through soundscape ecology and passive acoustic monitoring to assess biodiversity and ecosystem health. Metrics such as acoustic richness, spectral occupancy, and evenness help describe how species share acoustic space, an idea related to the acoustic niche concept. Biophony is sensitive to environmental change: declines in species numbers, shifts in behavior, or increased noise can reduce diversity of sounds or obscure important signals.

In practice, biophony is used in conservation to monitor habitats over time, detect disturbances, and evaluate the effectiveness of protections. It is part of broader soundscape studies that seek to understand the relationships between living communities and their acoustic environments.