Soundscape ecology

The soundscape is formed by the set of sounds produced by animals (biophony), by natural phenomena (geophony), and by the sounds generated by human activities (anthrophony). In the marine environment, echinoderms, crustaceans, fish and mammals compose biophony. Through the study of Soundscape Ecology is possible to observe how these different components occupy the acoustic space, and to identify possible long-term changes. The growing increase in anthropogenic noise in marine ecosystems, resulting from vessel traffic and oil exploration, can cause acoustic masking and affect species communication.