Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claims responsibility for Ankara attack
British Defense Minister Grant Shapps: We are deploying RAF Typhoons to Poland
British Defense Minister Grant Shapps announces a 4 billion pound ($4.9 billion) deal to build attack submarines
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: We have waited 60 years at the doorstep of the European Union. We are no longer waiting.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: One civilian martyred, another injured by Saudi Arabia's armed forces in Saada, Yemen.
The Turkish authorities have banned media from broadcasting at the scene of an attempted terrorist attack that hit the capital near Parliament earlier.
An explosion and gunfire heard in Turkey’s capital Ankara near the parliament and the ministries.
US House 45-day stopgap funding bill with no aid for Ukraine gets enough votes.
Armenia quickly denied the allegations of killing an Azerbaijani soldier, saying the claim its forces had opened fire on Azerbaijani positions "does not correspond to reality".
Azerbaijan says a soldier was killed by a sniper on the Armenian border.

Is it possible to ‘hear’ nature?

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 1 Dec 2022 16:09
  • 3 Shares
  • x

Scientists can overhear the natural world using digital bioacoustics, and they're discovering some amazing things.

  • Mammal-eating ‘transient’ killer whales, photographed off Alaska. (AP)
    Mammal-eating ‘transient’ killer whales, photographed off Alaska. (AP)

Scientists have recently produced some astounding discoveries on non-human sounds. Researchers are documenting the universal importance of sound to life on Earth using digital bioacoustics — tiny, portable digital recorders similar to those found in your smartphone.

Scientists are discovering the secret sounds of nature by installing these digital microphones all around the planet, from the depths of the ocean, to the Arctic and the Amazon, many of which occur at ultrasonic or infrasonic frequencies, above or below human hearing range.

Non-humans are constantly conversing, most of which the naked human ear cannot hear. Digital bioacoustics, on the other hand, assists us in hearing these noises by acting as a planetary-scale hearing aid and allowing people to capture nature's sounds beyond the limitations of our sensory capacities.

Researchers are now decoding complex communication in other species using artificial intelligence (AI).

Scientists are discovering some amazing things when they eavesdrop on nature. Many creatures that we traditionally thought were silent really generate a lot of noise in various instances.

Scientists are also discovering that vocally active species, such as bats, produce sounds that convey far more detailed information than previously assumed.

Some of the findings:

Acoustic tuning is also common in nature. Coral and fish larvae return home by imprinting on the distinct noises produced by the reef where they were born.

Scientists found out that Amazonian marine turtles produce almost 200 unique noises. According to research, turtle hatchlings even generate sounds while still in their eggs, before hatching, to synchronize the moment of their birth. The research has also revealed that mother turtles wait nearby in the river, calling to their babies to guide them away from predators: the first scientific proof of parental care in turtles, which were traditionally considered to abandon their eggs.

Other researchers unmasked that bats remember favors and keep grudges, socially separate and go quiet when ill, and utilize vocal labels that disclose individual and kin identity. Scientists also found out that male bats acquire territorial songs in distinct dialects from their fathers and, like birds, sing these songs to protect territory and attract mates, a phenomenon scientists call culture.

Meanwhile, scientists have also found out that Coral and fish larvae return home by imprinting on the distinct noises produced by the reef where they were born. 

To avoid detection by bat sonar, moths have developed echolocation jamming skills, as per scientists.

Other findings showed that flowers and vines have evolved leaves that reflect echolocation back to bats as if they were using a brilliant acoustic flashlight to entice pollinators. Flowers flood themselves with nectar in response to the buzz of bees.

In short, digital listening demonstrates that we have much more to learn about nonhumans and opens up new avenues for environmental protection and conservation.

  • nature sounds
  • hear nature
  • natural world
  • scientists

Most Read

BBC from the front lines in Ukraine: It's bad, counteroffensive failed

BBC from the front lines in Ukraine: It's bad, counteroffensive failed

  • Europe
  • 28 Sep 2023
Zelensky joins Canadian Parliament’s ovation to WWII Nazi soldier

Zelensky joins Canadian Parliament’s ovation to WWII Nazi soldier

  • US & Canada
  • 25 Sep 2023
Who Would Ally with the West: ‘It’s Boring – The Real Excitement is in Asia’

Who Would Ally with the West: ‘It’s Boring – The Real Excitement is in Asia’

  • Analysis
  • 30 Sep 2023
How Hezbollah Burnt the Naqab Forest, The Abbassiye Landing Operation

Al Mayadeen documentary: How Hezbollah burnt the IOF's Naqab Forest

  • MENA
  • 24 Sep 2023

Coverage

All
Morocco & Libya Disasters

Read Next

All
sd
MENA

Islamic unity vital to counter US, Israeli plots, aggression: Raisi

DPRK flag
Asia

DPRK assimilates NATO, US alliance with Japan, South Korea to cancer

President Joe Biden signs H.J.Res.100, a bill that aims to avert a freight rail strike, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Washington. (AP)
US & Canada

Biden signs 45-day spending bill averting government shutdown

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks with the media as he arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, June 29, 2023. (AP)n Ukrainian Port
Europe

Borrell sheds crocodile tears over Odessa after slew of drone attacks

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS