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Temporal and spatial variation of a winter soundscape in south-central Alaska

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Abstract

Context

Winter soundscapes are likely different from soundscapes in other seasons considering wildlife vocalizations (biophony) decrease, wind events (geophony) increase, and winter vehicle noise (technophony) occurs. The temporal variation and spatial relationships of soundscape components to the landscape in winter have not been quantified and described until now.

Objectives

Our objectives were to determine the temporal and spatial variation and acoustic–environmental relationships of a winter soundscape in south-central Alaska.

Methods

We recorded ambient sounds at 62 locations throughout Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (December 2011–April 2012). We calculated the normalized power spectral density in 59,597 recordings and used machine learning to determine acoustic–environmental relationships and produce spatial models of soundscape components.

Results

Geophony was the most prevalent component (84 %) followed by technophony (15 %), and biophony (1 %). Geophony occurred primarily at night, varied little by month, and was strongly associated with lakes. Technophony and biophony had similar temporal variation, peaking in April. Technophony occurred closer to urban areas and at locations with high snowmobile activity. Biophony occurred closer to rivers and was inversely related to snowmobile activity. Over 75 % of sample sites had >1 recordings of airplane or snowmobile noise, mainly in remote areas.

Conclusions

The soundscape displayed distinct patterns across 24-h and monthly timeframes. These patterns were strongly associated with land cover variables which demonstrate discrete acoustic–environmental relationships exhibiting distinct spatial patterns in the landscape. Despite the predominance of geophony, the presence of technophony in this winter soundscape may have significant negative effects to wildlife and wilderness quality.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and a research fellowship through the University of Alaska Fairbanks Graduate School. We thank the exceptional patience and hard work of Ryan Park, Bennie Johnson, and Mandy Salminen. We also appreciate the assistance of KENWR’s staff. We thank Salford Systems Ltd and Robin Tabone for the TreeNet license and technical support, respectively. We thank the reviewers of this manuscript for their insightful and helpful advice, comments, and suggestions.

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Author notes

  1. Timothy C. Mullet

    Present address: Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1208-B Main Street, Daphne, AL, 36526, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. EWHALE Lab, Biology and Wildlife Department, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 419 Irving I, 902 North Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    Timothy C. Mullet & Falk Huettmann

  2. Department of Entomology, Global Observatory for Ecosystem Services, Michigan State University, 101 Manly Miles Building, 1405 South Harrison Road, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Stuart H. Gage

  3. Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1 Ski Hill Road, Soldotna, AK, 99669, USA

    John M. Morton

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  1. Timothy C. Mullet
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Correspondence to Timothy C. Mullet.

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Mullet, T.C., Gage, S.H., Morton, J.M. et al. Temporal and spatial variation of a winter soundscape in south-central Alaska. Landscape Ecol 31, 1117–1137 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-015-0323-0

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