Aims and mission of the International Society of Ecoacoustics

The International Society of Ecoacoustics aims to promote the study and awareness of the link between sounds and the environment, in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The Society’s goal is to foster the use of sound to explore patterns of biodiversity and the natural world, to investigate the ecology of populations, communities and landscapes, and support conservation. As an organisation, we aim to support and grow the interdisciplinary field of ecoacoustics, fostering networks between scientists, students, practitioners, and artists to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas.

The ISE encompasses all research interests that sit within the field of ecoacoustics. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to:

• Methods and applications of passive acoustic monitoring

• Community and population ecology derived from sound data

• Detection and classification of sounds 

• Localisation and density estimation with sound data

• AI for Ecoacoustics 

• Soundscape metrics (e.g., acoustic indices)

• Soundscape ecology

• Impact of anthropogenic noise on soundscapes and biodiversity

• Hardware

• Sound archiving

• The role of soundscapes or natural sounds in environmental psychology

• Soundscapes and natural sounds in science communication and art

What is Ecoacoustics:

Ecoacoustics is an interdisciplinary science that investigates natural and anthropogenic sounds and their relationship with the environment over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, including populations, communities, and landscapes. Ecoacoustics operates in all types of terrestrial (air and soil) and aquatic (freshwater and marine) ecosystems.

Ecoacoustics recognises that sounds can be both the tools and subject of ecological research. As tools, sounds are used to study and monitor animal diversity, abundance, behaviour, dynamics and distribution, and their relationship with ecosystems and the environment. As the subject, sounds are investigated in order to understand their evolution, functions and properties under environmental pressures.

Aims

The aims of the society can grouped into six main activities:

• GENERAL

  • To promote the study of ecoacoustics

  • To support a network of scientists, students, artists and practitioners to facilitate the exchange of information about theories, methods and findings in ecoacoustics

• DISSEMINATION OF IDEAS AND RESEARCH

  • To organize the World  Ecoacoustics Congress every two years.

    • To promote and facilitate regular meetings, workshops, seminars and publications by supporting collaboration with other scientific disciplines with links to acoustics, ecology and conservation.

• CONSERVATION

  • To work with other organizations to use ecoacoustics to help achieve ecological integrity in the world’s changing ecosystems

  • To encourage acoustic research projects on endangered species and threatened ecosystems and to promote the conservation and restoration of acoustic diversity and natural soundscapes

• HARDWARE & ANALYSES

  • To promote interdisciplinary approaches in the development of data acquisition and analysis tools by bringing together competences in electronics, signal processing, and information technology

  • To promote new approaches to data analysis 

• ARCHIVING

• • To promote the collection and free open-access archiving of natural and environmental sounds and acoustic datasets that contribute to document global biodiversity and ecological patterns at time and spatial scales.

• EDUCATION

  • To promote ecoacoustics public outreach through new educational formats such as science-based sound art across the widest possible range of disciplines

To promote the participation of early-career researchers and practitioners from underrepresented groups in events organized by the society.  

Arts and Science Dialogue

The Society promotes dialogue and collaboration across the arts and sciences, nurturing environmentally-engaged creative practices that raise awareness of ecological issues, convey ecoacoustic research and highlight the cultural, aesthetic and ecological significance of soundscapes.

The Society recognises the vital role of the arts in expressing and disseminating ecoacoustic research. By encouraging collaboration between artists and scientists, we aim to nurture environmentally-engaged art that raises awareness of ecological change, conveys the value of soundscapes and deepens public engagement with environmental issues. Through dialogue and skill-sharing across disciplines, the Society seeks to develop innovative forms of expression and communication that enrich the study of ecoacoustics and extend its reach beyond academia.

• Encourage dialogue and collaboration between the arts and sciences by fostering skill-sharing and exchange between artists and scientists to enhance both the study and dissemination of ecoacoustics.

• Support environmentally-engaged artistic practices that raise awareness of ecological issues, communicate ecoacoustic research, and promote the cultural, aesthetic and ecological appreciation of soundscapes through creative expression.

• Promote the cultural, aesthetic and ecological appreciation of soundscapes through creative expression.