Dr Zuzana Burivalova, postdoctoral research fellow from Princeton University, will present a seminar entitled “Using soundscapes to detect different degrees of tropical forest degradation”.
Abstract
Communities and indigenous people play a fundamental role in tropical forest management and they are often efficient at preventing deforestation. In Papua New Guinea, the majority of land is officially owned and managed by the resident communities, making community forest management crucial in achieving global biodiversity conservation goals. We used a new biodiversity remote sensing technology, the recording of soundscapes, to test whether the saturation of soundscape changes with increasing land use intensity by the managing communities. In the talk, I will: 1) suggest a simple, robust, and easily interpreted way to analyse soundscapes; 2) demonstrate the gradual degradation of soundscapes with increasing human influences in Papua New Guinea; and 3) discuss the potential of soundscape analysis to transform the study of tropical forest ecology and conservation.
Event Title: Using soundscapes to detect different degrees of tropical forest degradation
When: 1;10pm, Friday 15 July 2016
Where: Lecture Theatre G10, Benham Building
Cost: Free
