Status, development and trends of studies in fauna acoustics in Colombia

Abstract

Acoustic signals are one of the most important ways of communication for fauna. The study of acoustic signals constitutes a valuable tool to obtain information on ecology, behavior, taxonomic identification, and the effect of human activities in natural environments and different animal species. Furthermore, it offers the possibility of quantifying and monitoring biodiversity in different Colombian ecosystems. In this work, we present an analysis of the research on bioacoustics that have been developed in Colombia, to establish a baseline, identify gaps in knowledge, strengths, weaknesses and discuss future challenges for bioacoustics research in Colombia. We searched information on scientific publications, degree papers, and electronic database conference presentations, using different keywords. We obtained 321 results;studies using acoustic tools are much more common in birds (36.4%) and amphibians (35%) than in any other taxonomic group, and there is a bias towards studying bioacoustics in the Andean region. However, this is a field with growing interest, and, therefore, there is a need for collaborative and multidisciplinary work, a consensus on methodologies, along with the strengthening and enrichment of the country's sound collections.

Keywords

• bioacoustics
• communication
• ecoacoustics
• sound
• vocalization