Measuring Sustainability: Soundscape Ecology
Nina Munteanu
October 1, 2026 - 14
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The Sustainability Thread is a thematic series of articles, curated by Canadian SF author Nina Munteanu and sponsored by Reality Skimming Press. Pieces in the series appear twice a month Query Nina Munteanu about appearing on the thread at nina.sfgirl@gmail.com
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“Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes unheralded
by the return of the birds. The early mornings are strangely silent where once they
were filled with the beauty of bird song.”—Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (1962).
It’s well known that a rich variety of life—called biodiversity—builds resilience in ecosystems,
supplying clean air, fresh water, fertile soil and stable climate regulation—all vital to thriving life
on this planet.
This makes ecosystem biodiversity a key metric for measuring global sustainability.
Ecosystem biodiversity, in turn, can be broken down into three components: 1) ecosystem
services; 2) climate stability; and 3) system resilience.
1. Ecosystem services describe the maintenance of natural processes such as water quality,
pollination, and pest control.
2. Climate stability is achieved through healthy forests and wetlands that sequester large
amounts of carbon dioxide and help balance other components (such as water) that
contribute to climate.
3. System resilience (to changes) is best achieved through natural complexity; high
biodiversity allows areas to recover from disasters, droughts, and disease. This
translates into food security, public health and sustainable livelihoods.
Biodiversity Loss is an Existential Threat.
Unfortunately, impacts to our many ecosystems—mostly from thoughtless habitat destruction,
development, over-exploitation, and human-induced climate change—are rapidly reducing
biodiversity. Major ecosystems around the world are collapsing as their systems undergo
tipping points after which they can no longer support life—together posing a serious existential
threat. Examples include the Aral Sea, shrinking from water diversion; the Great Barrier Reef,
suffering mass coral bleaching; and the slow collapse of the Amazon Rainforest into a savanna
from deforestation and drought. Canada’s own boreal forest is under an escalating risk of
collapse due to human and natural causes such as landscape fragmentation, resource
development, climate change, wildfires, and pest outbreaks.
Science instructor and educational consultant Paul Anderson, of Bozeman Science, came up
with an acronym—HICOP—to encapsulate the key threats to biodiversity:
H—Habitat Loss: deforestation, urbanization, and agricultural expansion [and use of harmful
chemicals] are erasing living spaces for millions of species.
I—Invasive species: non-native plants and animals outcompete the natives (particularly in
human-disturbed environments) or carry diseases that devastate native populations.
C—Climate Change: shifting weather patterns and warming oceans push species out of their
natural ranges.
O—Overharvesting: unsustainable hunting, logging, and overfishing deplete populations faster
than they can reproduce.
P—Pollution: toxins, plastics, and excess fertilizers poison ecosystems and degrade water and
soil quality.
Current extinction rates are estimated to be up to ten thousand times higher than the natural
background rate over the millennia. Fifty-seven years after Rachel Carson noticed the vanishing
dawn chorus in Silent Spring, scientists reported a staggering decline in North American birds: a
third of the entire bird population lost in five decades. Many biologists refer to today’s human-
driven biodiversity crisis as a potential sixth mass extinction event. We have definitely left the
Holocene and entered the Anthropocene.
Measuring Biodiversity : Soundscape Ecology
My short story Robin’s Last Song is an eco-fiction short story that follows Robin, a blind elder
with Asperger’s and dysphonia who navigates the aftermath of a sudden global extinction of
birds that her digital app failed to predict. The story explores the conflict between nature and
technology, as well as Robin's journey to find hope in soundscape ecology. You can read the full
story on MetaStellar Magazine or find it in the classic Apex Magazine Issue #128.
Ultimately Robin finds redemption in the new science of soundscape ecology, which can
analyze the health of an ecosystem.
Soundscape ecology is, in fact, an emerging bioacoustics tool that measures biodiversity and
the health of an ecosystem, mostly through bird sound which does a good job of representing
ecosystem health—given that birds are ubiquitous in all ecosystems and their vocalizations are
pervasive.
Canada is the global birthplace of soundscape studies and acoustic ecology. Pioneered in 1969
by composer R. Murray Schafer through the World Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser
University in Vancouver, key concepts that arose from this early work came about through
additional work by various scientists, such as Almo Farina and Bryan Pijanowski, who
developed acoustic observations as a rigorous quantitative branch of landscape ecology. Bernie
Krause, an American musician turned ecologist, applied sophisticated acoustic equipment to
the science and recently observed his first silent spring in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park.
Throughout the world, people are noticing the disappearance of the dawn chorus—a key
window for bird communication.
“Soundscape ecology is a quick and easy way to assess the health of a habitat.
We know that the richness of the soundscape is linked to the diversity and abundance
of life in an ecosystem—from the smallest insect to a roaming bear and rustling
tree…”—Jack Gopnik in Robin’s Last Song.
Gopnik goes on to explain soundscape ecology:
“All sounds, from trickling streams to singing birds, combine in a unique soundscape
that represents a ‘fingerprint’ of the ecosystem. Ecologists divide these acoustics into
three categories. Geophony describes natural processes like crashing waterfalls, tides,
lightning, and earthquakes. Biophony describes the sounds produced by all living things
from plants to insects to larger wildlife. And then there’s anthropophony, the sounds
produced by human activities such as planes, traffic, and construction …
“Acoustic communication is crucial for birds to reproduce, feed, defend territories, and
avoid predators. Birds use sonic territories or channel bandwidths to ensure their voices
can be heard unimpeded by others. But soundtracks are changing. Bernie Krause—the
originator of Soundscape Ecology—documented how a forest can flatline. He called it
dysphonia…”
In my short story, science and technology play both instigator of disaster and purveyor of
salvation. This is because these are just epistemological tools. It’s not enough to measure
sustainability; we must act on what we know.
Cornell University provides seven things individuals can do to help bird populations. These
include: make windows safer, day and night; keep cats indoors; reduce lawn, plant natives;
avoid pesticides; drink coffee that’s good for birds; protect our planet from plastic; watch birds;
share what you see. Individuals can also advocate for the existence of viable bird habitats,
such as healthy urban forests and parks, and safe pesticide/chemical-free environments.
Success relies on the combined coordination of communities, organizations and governments.
Individuals can contribute by example and through lobbying efforts.
Birds and their habitat support clean water, human health, and even boost property values.
When people help birds, they are helping the world.
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References:
Barnosky, A. D. et al. 2011. “Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived?” Nature 471:
51-57.
Carson, Rachel. 1962. “Silent Spring.” Houghton Mifflin. 368pp.
Davies, Caroline. 2012. “UK breeding bird population shrinks by more than 44 million since
1966.” The Guardian, November 19, 2012.
Dirzo, R. et al. 2014. “Defaunation in the Anthropocene.” Science 345: 401-406.
Eng, Margaret L. et al. 2019. “A neonicotinoid insecticide reduces fueling and delays migration
in songbirds.” Science 365(6458): 1177-1180
Fuller, Gary. 2018. “Pollutionwatch: city sparrows’ decline linked to car exhausts.” The
Guardian, August 2, 2018.
McCumber, Andrew. “Structures of feeling in climate fiction.” American Journal of Cultural
Sociology, February 2026.
Munteanu, Nina. 2021. “Robin’s Last Song.” Apex Magazine, Issue 128.
Pijanowski, Bryan C. 2011. “Soundscape Ecology: The Science of Sound in the Landscape.”
BioScience 61(3): 203-216.
Pimm, S. I. et al. 2014. “The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution,
and protection.” Science 344(6187).
Rosenberg, Kenneth V. et al. 2019. “Decline of the North American avifauna.” Science
366(6461): 120-124.
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Nina Munteanu is an Canadian ecologist, author, editor and writing coach, notably but not exclusively in the realm of Speculative Fiction (SF/F). In addition to nine published novels, Munteanu has written short stories, articles and non-fiction books, which have been translated into several languages throughout the world. Munteanu is a member of SF Canada.
Nina Munteanu on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninamunteanu/
Nina Munteanu Writing Coach. https://ninamunteanu.me/
Nina Munteanu (Wikipedia). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Munteanu
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Image Credits
Munteanu, N. , No date given
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