Tippecanoe 2011

Background on Ecosystem

Much of the central United States of America that was formerly forest, woodland, or grassland, has now been converted to row-crop agriculture. Remaining patches of pre-colonization habitat are small and isolated between agricultural and urban land use areas. Biophonic soundscape contributions come primarily from birds, frogs, and insects.

Specific Location

The western section of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States of America

Biome Classification(s)

Köppen-Geiger: Dfa Snow Fully Humid Hot Summer

Key Partners

Threats to Ecosystems and Animals

Land use change, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, pollution, and car strikes represent significant threats to animals in this highly fragmented landscape.

Studies

  • Study 1: Land Use Comparison. Recorders are deployed in agricultural, and forested landscapes to compare the acoustic communities and temporal soundscape dynamics between the land use categories.
  • Study 2: Climate Change. As the longest CGS study, this project is examining changes in soundscape phenology—the timing of annual sound events—to see if animal sound production exhibits long term trends linked to anthropogenic climate change.