Developing bio-acoustic monitoring: can current challenges be overcome?

背景测量和监测大范围的动物群生物多样性是一个挑战，特别是对于无脊椎动物等较小的类群和那些活跃在地下的类群。生态学中一个日益增长的趋势是利用一个地区的声音来非侵入性地监测物种：提供关于生物多样性、丰富度以及群落的丰富度和组成的时空分布信息。衡量标准(例如声学复杂性)可以量化存在的声音，并将其与生态系统的多样性联系起来。这项技术正在成为水生和地上温带系统的标准，重点是鱼、蝙蝠、鸟类和无脊椎动物，但还没有完全探索到地下和无脊椎动物。该项目沿着干扰梯度(主要是放牧压力)和整个稀树草原生境开展工作，试图通过确定这种抽样方法在量化地上和地下无脊椎动物多样性方面的潜力来推动生物声学领域的发展。新颖性和时效性虽然一些传感器已被用于探索土壤中的生物信号，但没有一个传感器提供可靠、经济有效的解决方案；这是目前声学用于地面监测的障碍。该项目将开发土壤传感器，并使用人工智能驱动的数据处理，为开发一种新的、广泛适用的技术来帮助保护和生物多样性理解提供了潜力。探索地上和地下生物声学采样和生物多样性量化的潜力。通过将声音记录单位的生物多样性数据与现场采样和电子DNA的数据进行比较，确定声音多样性指数是否能够反映真实的多样性。确定生物声学生物多样性测量在多大程度上可以检测到稀树草原生境的差异。基于肯尼亚山周围的稀树草原景观，这名博士生将与项目案例合作伙伴Natural State(www.natialstate.org)密切合作，以完善研究问题并制定现场抽样设计。自然之州将提供国内支持。在生态和保护方面，一个日益增长的趋势是使用声音或振动来监测生物多样性。这种前景看好的非侵入性监测方法具有广泛的好处；它可以提供关于动物丰度、多样性和群落空间分布的数据。虽然生态声学现在通常用于评估水生和地上陆地类群(如鱼、蝙蝠、鸟类和无脊椎动物)，但很少有研究将该技术应用于地下系统或无脊椎动物。通常，地下无脊椎动物采样是使用传统的野外工作技术进行的。虽然这些方法被证明是成功的，但它们往往耗时长、费用高，并对土壤造成干扰。该项目旨在发展生态声学监测，以量化地上和地下的无脊椎动物。更具体地说，我们的目标是：(1)利用具有成本效益的传感器探索地面和地下生态声学监测的潜力；(2)通过将生态声学数据与传统的实地采样进行比较，确定生态声学指数是否能够反映真实的丰富度和多样性；以及(3)确定利用生态声学绘制稀树草原生境中无脊椎动物丰富度和多样性地图的潜力。我们将与项目案例合作伙伴肯尼亚山自然之州合作，在稀树草原栖息地进行实地考察。这将使我们能够沿着干扰梯度(例如放牧压力)工作，评估碳储存和无脊椎动物生物多样性之间的关系，并探索稀树草原栖息地恢复对无脊椎动物的影响。这项研究旨在支持无脊椎动物的保护努力，并量化干扰、碳储存和稀树草原恢复项目对这些具有重要功能的类群的潜在影响。

BackgroundMeasuring and monitoring faunal biodiversity across large scales is a challenge, especially for the smaller sized taxa such as invertebrates, and those active below-ground. A growing trend in ecology is to use the sounds of an area to non-invasively monitor species: providing information regarding spatial and temporal distribution of biodiversity, abundance, and the richness and composition of the community. Metrics (e.g. acoustic complexity) can quantify the sounds present and link these to diversity of the ecosystem. This technique is becoming standard in aquatic and above-ground temperate systems focussed on fish, bats, birds and anurans, but is yet to be explored fully below-ground and for invertebrates. Working along disturbance gradients (principally grazing pressure) and across savanna habitats, this project seeks to advance the field of bio-acoustics by determining the potential of this sampling approach for quantifying invertebrate diversity both above and below-ground. Novelty and TimelinessWhilst a few sensors have been used to explore biotic signals in soil, none offer a reliable, cost-effective solution; a road-block in the current utility of acoustics for ground monitoring. This project will develop soil sensors and use AI-driven data processing offering the potential to develop a novel and widely applicable technology to aid conservation and biodiversity understanding.Objectives1. Explore the potential of above and below-ground terrestrial bioacoustics sampling and biodiversity quantification.2. Determine if acoustic diversity indices can reflect true diversity by comparing biodiversity data from acoustic recording units, with that from field sampling and eDNA.3. Determine to what extent differences in savanna habitats can be detected with bioacoustics biodiversity measures.Based in the savanna landscapes surrounding Mount Kenya, the PhD student will work closely with the project CASE partner, Natural State (www.naturalstate.org), to refine the research questions and develop the field sampling design. Natural State will provide in-country support. A growing trend in ecology and conservation is the use of sounds or vibrations to monitor biodiversity. This promising non-invasive monitoring method has a wide range of benefits; it can provide data regarding animal abundance, diversity, and spatial distribution of communities. Whilst ecoacoustics is now commonly used to assess aquatic and above-ground terrestrial taxa (e.g., fish, bats, birds, and anurans), few studies have applied the technique to below-ground systems or invertebrates. Typically, below-ground invertebrate sampling is conducted using traditional fieldwork techniques. Whilst proven to be successful, these methods are often time consuming, expensive, and cause disturbance to soils. This project aims to develop ecoacoustic monitoring to quantify above- and below-ground invertebrates. More specifically our objectives are: (1) explore the potential of above- and below-ground terrestrial ecoacoustic monitoring using a cost-effective sensor; (2) determine if ecoacoustic indices can reflect true abundance and diversity by comparing ecoacoustic data to traditional field sampling; and (3) determine the potential of using ecoacoustics to map invertebrate abundance and diversity in savanna habitats. We will collaborate with the project CASE partner, Natural State in Mount Kenya to conduct our fieldwork in savanna habitats. This will allow us to work along disturbance gradients (e.g., grazing pressure), assess the relationship between carbon storage and invertebrate biodiversity, and explore the impact of savanna habitat restoration on invertebrates. This research aims to support conservation efforts of invertebrates, and quantify the potential effects of disturbance, carbon storage and savanna restoration projects on these functionally important taxa.