Thanks for the kind note, Kevin.
It's taken about 40 years to figure out what humans instinctively
knew about the sounds of the natural world eons ago when we lived
much closer to the natural world and heard the thrum of sounds around
us. I found Greenfield's rebuttal odd, or else he misinterpreted the
intent. It's not a new age "let's all get along" hypothesis, it is
evolution like any other, where species co-evolve to distibute the
sound in the space of time and acoustic turf like any other resource.
And it's taken a very long and frustrating time to get some sense
that the evolutionary biology community, in which I count myself a
member, supported it. "Who speaks of victory? To endure is
everything!" said the German poet, Rilke.
Keep recording everyone. The world needs your dedication to this effort,
Bernie
>Greetings All,
>
>Check out this nicely written article regarding the pioneering work
>in bioacoustics by Bernie Krause:
>
>http://select.nytimes.com/preview/2007/02/18/magazine/1154665179154.html?e=
x=3D1171688400&en=3D2cc99ddd1a7f006f&ei=3D5121&emc=3Deta1
>
>I find the theory Bernie proposed very compelling. There has been
>further research into the issue of species competing for "air
>space." Many species have songs that are somewhat similar and use
>similar frequencies. The stronger singing species generally has his
>way and the weaker singer waits to fit songs in when he can.
>
>I first noticed this along a canyon creek in Utah when Song Sparrow
>would blast out his song. A neighboring Fox Sparrow would usually
>follow with his song a few seconds later. This went on so long I was
>sure they were not on random time schedules or they would have
>overlapped more. The Fox Sparrow was waiting for the Song Sparrow to
>go, he then knew there would be a few moments of quiet he could use
>for his own song. I believe this was studied in California coastal
>brushland for example, where (if I recall correctly) it was found
>that Bewick's Wren was the strong singer and Wrentit would wait and
>fit in his songs.
>
>No, the species have not evolved a friendly cooperative singing
>schedule, it was naive of Bernie's critics to think so. There is as
>much competition for air time in densely populated biomes are there
>is for air time and frequency space on AM radio in southern
>California. Sparcely habitated areas where species are spread thin
>over large areas have less competition for air space and this
>phenomenon is less of an issue. Bernie noted that the competition
>for frequency space is extreme in jungle habitats. I wonder what we
>would find in ocean soundscapes?
>
>
>Well, it's great to be associated with you all, good recording.
>
>Kevin Colver
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
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P. O. Box 536
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t. 707-996-6677
f. 707-996-0280
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