Abstract
Understanding how acoustic environments vary across habitats is essential for interpreting avian communication in rapidly changing landscapes. In this exploratory ecoacoustic study, we examined short-term patterns of bird acoustic activity and background sound levels in three adjacent habitats of Omora Park, southern Chile: old-growth forest, riparian forest, and the entrance of a recreational trail. Using 67 one-minute recordings collected across a single sampling day, we quantified the number of avian vocalizations, non-avian sounds, and basic acoustic indices (maximum amplitude, RMS, and percent silence). Old-growth forest exhibited the highest acoustic activity, with approximately twice as many vocalizations per minute as the riparian site and the trail entrance. Non-avian noise levels were similar across habitats, although the trail entrance showed occasional high-amplitude peaks and the riparian site displayed continuous geophonic noise from the river. A negative correlation between non-avian sounds and avian vocalizations suggests potential masking processes, although the limited temporal scope of the study prevents causal inference. Our findings highlight fine-scale habitat differences that shape the sub-Antarctic soundscape and underscore the potential of ecoacoustic monitoring for informing conservation in remote areas. We discuss methodological constraints—short sampling duration, lack of calibrated sound pressure measurements—and propose research directions to strengthen future assessments of anthropogenic and environmental noise in high-latitude ecosystems.
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