Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

Costing the Earth

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

BBC Radio 4 LW

Costing the Earth: Acoustic Ecology

01/03/2016

Acoustic Ecology

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Acoustic Ecology

Can the sound of the Amazon help to save it? Peter Gibbs reports.

Peter Gibbs explores the emerging science of soundscape ecology. Can we use sound to understand more about our environment and learn to protect what we hear before it is too late?

Peter Gibbs asks whether sound could become a vital tool in conservation, helping us understand far more about how wildlife interacts and how it is affected by changes in the environment . Technological advances in recording mean that we can now record huge amounts of data in remote locations. By using algorithms scientists hope to break down complex interactions between animals and their environment and be able to predict change or protect species. This is the emerging science of soundscape ecology. Scientists are hoping to apply big data solutions learnt from fields such as genetics to re-imagine conservation and asking all of us to listen and imagine what a world without natural sounds such as birdsong might be like.

Producer: Helen Lennard.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Costing the Earth

Acoustic Ecology

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4