The first step of our full-scale data collection is complete! We’ve just finished deploying our first set of sound recorders in Val di Tonale, within the Stelvio National Park—a unique alpine environment where nature and human activities meet.
For this project, we are using two types of devices: the SongMeter Micro 2 by Wildlife Acoustics and the AudioMoth by OpenAcoustics. Both are compact, robust, and specially designed for outdoor bioacoustic monitoring, making them ideal for capturing the complex soundscape of the Alps.
Our recorders are set to capture sounds from 0 to 24 kHz—just beyond the range of human hearing. This means we’ll be recording the sounds that people make (voices, cars, planes, drones), but also the songs of birds and even some insects. Alongside these biological sounds, we’ll collect a lot of geophony—natural sounds such as wind, rain, and other weather-related noise—which are an important part of the alpine soundscape.
Every sound recorder is deployed together with a camera trap. These will give us valuable visual information on the wildlife in the area, helping us link animal presence and activity with the acoustic environment. We’ll share more about this part of the study in a future post!
Finally, a big thank you to Lucrezia Lotenzetti, Paola Antonini, and Giulia Borsani, who not only helped with this first deployment, but are also supporting the project by managing all the fieldwork in two of our key study areas—Val di Tonale and Valfurva. This work wouldn’t be possible without such a dedicated team in the field!
