Our group is using bioacoustics to answer two main questions:
-Can we use indicator species such as ants or earthworms to evaluate soil health? One non-invasive way to do this is by using passive acoustic monitoring. Experiments performed with the collaboration of SLU Uppsala could let us know whether a well populated soil is acoustically distinct from a barren one.
-Can we extrapolate the soil fauna behaviour from acoustic recordings? Ants produce a lot of different sounds, and their daily patterns of activity are detectable via passive acoustic monitoring. They are also able to rub their body parts together to produce sounds, and this phenomenon called stridulation could open up new avenues of studying behaviour through sound.
