Good questions, John. The question to ask is "What is the source of
the sound?" It's really the beholder's call. If one hears it as the
vibration of the leaf when struck, then it's biophonic. If it's the
percussive splintering of the raindrop, then it's geophonic. In the
scenario you offer, it is probably a combo of both. We don't hear
wind. Only its effects. Based on the high freq cavitation of the xylem
and phloem in some trees, certain insects appear to be drawn to the
signal. I have no idea about leaves, although the edge tones of
certain leaves under certain conditions, could be a lure to some
critters. Owls are known to be notably silent fliers. Again, the
premise is that the source is the determining factor.
Bernie
On Mar 4, 2011, at 4:50 PM, hartogj wrote:
> Hi Bernie,
> Thanks for sharing the article.
> Here is a question for you: Is the sound of a leaf meeting a
> raindrop biotic or abiotic? Maybe for your work, you would say that
> the sound is caused by the rain, thus Geophony. But what about wind
> in the aspens? I can see how the shape of a tree's leaves, bark, or
> branches might evolve to sound a specific way. Maybe some insects
> find plants by the sound of their leaves in the wind. And there
> must be animals with bodies evolved to be quiet against wind and/or
> water. How would you classify such examples?
>
> John Hartog
> rockscallop.org
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie
> Krause.
>
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