ScienceAugust 17, 2026

biophony

by-AH-fuh-nee

Definition

The collective sounds produced by living organisms in a particular environment or ecosystem.

Etymology

Derived from the Greek 'bios' (life) and 'phone' (sound/voice). The term was coined in the late 20th century to describe the component of a soundscape generated by biological organisms.

In the news

The article uses the term to categorize animal sounds, contrasting them with other sound sources like geophony and anthropophony to build a framework for studying ecosystem health through acoustics.

Worm munch matters: the new acoustic ecology of the soil

Read the full article ↗

Aeon

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