Farina Almo, Li Peng. Methods in Ecoacoustics: The Acoustic Complexity Indices

Springer, 2021. — 132 p. — (Frontiers in Ecoacoustics 1). — ISBN: 978-3-030-82176-0.This book represents an introduction to ecoacoustics theory, to the application of the Acoustic Complexity Indices (ACIs) to the acoustic survey, and to the use of innovative software to process acoustic data. It enables readers to comprehend the main principles that guide the recent development of ecoacoustics and offers a synthesis of the role of sound in ecological research. Readers will be introduced to the use of the ACIs by a detailed description of the main algorithms recently formulated and on their correct application in the acoustic processing concurring to the creation of sonic information systems. Readers will also find a new dedicated software application, namely SonoScape, that is described in detail with its codes attached in the supplementary material in a completely visible format. The SonoScape is a performing software application operating in MatLAB and is enriched with several options to manage a single and large collection of acoustics files. It vides the feasibility to process data at different temporal scales, using different combinations of parameters, and to extract novel complexity measures such as entropy and fractal dimension of ecoacoustic events. It also offers functions to visualize the results using customized 3-D plots or ternary plots, intuitively demonstrating the patterns of ACIs based on the vast number of numerical results. Finally, this book provides several examples of case studies with the aim of better understanding the potentiality of ACIs and the power of SonoScape as multitasking software to approach the complexity of the ecoacoustic investigation. Students and scholars in ecology, land managers, and technicians may find an important tool to interpret the complex relationship between humans and natural processes when sounds are adopted as a proxy.An Introduction to Ecoacoustics
The Acoustic Complexity Indices (ACIs)
Introduction to the SonoScape, an Open-Source Software Application in MatLAB
Exercises