When I first began recording wild soundscapes

我第一次開始錄野外聲境

45 years ago,

是 45 年前

I had no idea that ants,

那時候我不知道原來螞蟻

insect larvae, sea anemones and viruses

昆蟲幼體、海葵及病毒

created a sound signature.

都會產生獨特的音調

But they do.

但牠們確實會

And so does every wild habitat on the planet,

地球上的每一個 野生棲地也是如此

like the Amazon rainforest you're hearing behind me.

就像從我背後聽到的亞馬遜雨林

In fact, temperate and tropical rainforests

事實上，溫帶及熱帶雨林

each produce a vibrant animal orchestra,

都會產生活力四射的動物樂團

that instantaneous and organized expression

這種即席卻組織化的表演

of insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals.

集合了昆蟲、爬行類、 兩棲類、鳥類和哺乳類動物

And every soundscape that springs from a wild habitat

而每一種野生棲地流瀉出的聲境

generates its own unique signature,

都有自己的特徵

one that contains incredible amounts of information,

其中所含的資訊多到令人難以置信

and it's some of that information I want to share with you today.

而我今天要與各位分享的 就是其中的一部分

The soundscape is made up of three basic sources.

聲境有三種基本來源

The first is the geophony,

第一是地形聲響

or the nonbiological sounds that occur

或稱非生物聲音

in any given habitat,

在任何棲地都會產生

like wind in the trees, water in a stream,

像樹上的風，溪裡的水

waves at the ocean shore, movement of the Earth.

岸邊的海潮，地球的活動

The second of these is the biophony.

第二種稱作生物聲響

The biophony is all of the sound

生物聲響是指

that's generated by organisms in a given habitat

特定棲地上的生物

at one time and in one place.

在某時某地產生的聲音

And the third is all of the sound that we humans generate

第三種則是我們人類產生的所有聲音

that's called anthrophony.

稱為人的聲響

Some of it is controlled, like music or theater,

有些可受控制，像音樂或戲劇

but most of it is chaotic and incoherent,

但大多數為混亂而不連貫

which some of us refer to as noise.

有些人就稱之為噪音

There was a time when I considered wild soundscapes

曾有一段時間我認為野外聲境

to be a worthless artifact.

毫無價值

They were just there, but they had no significance.

它們擺在那兒，形同虛設

Well, I was wrong. What I learned from these encounters

但我錯了。我從這幾次邂逅中發現

was that careful listening gives us incredibly valuable tools

仔細聆聽為我們提供了極有價值的工具

by which to evaluate the health of a habitat

可以評估一個棲地上

across the entire spectrum of life.

所有生物的健康狀態

When I began recording in the late '60s,

當我在 60 年代晚期開始錄音

the typical methods of recording were limited

普通的錄音法所能錄到的聲音

to the fragmented capture of individual species

只能捕捉到個別物種的片段

like birds mostly, in the beginning,

一開始的時候最主要是鳥類

but later animals like mammals and amphibians.

但後來就有像哺乳類或兩棲類等動物

To me, this was a little like trying to understand

對我而言，這有點像是試著去瞭解

the magnificence of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony

貝多芬的第五號交響曲的偉大

by abstracting the sound of a single violin player

卻只聽單一小提琴的聲音

out of the context of the orchestra

而不管整個樂團的表現

and hearing just that one part.

而且只聽那個部分

Fortunately, more and more institutions

所幸，有愈來愈多的機構

are implementing the more holistic models

使用更全方位的機型

that I and a few of my colleagues have introduced

是我和幾個同事引進

to the field of soundscape ecology.

聲境生態學領域的

When I began recording over four decades ago,

我在四十年前開始錄音時

I could record for 10 hours

可以只錄 10 小時

and capture one hour of usable material,

就得到一小時的可用材料

good enough for an album or a film soundtrack

夠我做一張唱片或影片配樂

or a museum installation.

或給博物館做裝置藝術

Now, because of global warming,

現在，因為全球暖化

resource extraction,

資源開採

and human noise, among many other factors,

人類噪音以及其他很多因素

it can take up to 1,000 hours or more

要錄到一千小時以上

to capture the same thing.

才能取得同等量的東西

Fully 50 percent of my archive

我存檔中有 50%

comes from habitats so radically altered

錄自受到劇烈改變的棲地

that they're either altogether silent

這些地方不是變成全然無聲

or can no longer be heard in any of their original form.

就是再也聽不到原有的聲境

The usual methods of evaluating a habitat

棲地評估的常用方法

have been done by visually counting the numbers of species

就是以肉眼計算某面積內的物種數量

and the numbers of individuals within each species in a given area.

以及每種物種的個體數量

However, by comparing data that ties together

不過我能以比較我們所聽到

both density and diversity from what we hear,

結合了密度及多樣性的數據

I'm able to arrive at much more precise fitness outcomes.

得到更精確的棲地健康報告

And I want to show you some examples

而我想讓大家看一些例子

that typify the possibilities unlocked

代表了探究這片天地

by diving into this universe.

所顯示出的潛在價值

This is Lincoln Meadow.

這裡是林肯草原

Lincoln Meadow's a three-and-a-half-hour drive

林肯草原位於舊金山以東

east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains,

開車三個小時半的內華達山脈

at about 2,000 meters altitude,

海拔約二千公尺

and I've been recording there for many years.

我已經在那裏錄了很多年

In 1988, a logging company convinced local residents

1988 年有個林業公司說服當地居民

that there would be absolutely no environmental impact

說絕對不會有任何環境影響

from a new method they were trying

因為他們正在試用新的方法

called "selective logging,"

稱為「等級伐採」

taking out a tree here and there

就是這裡砍一棵那裡砍一棵

rather than clear-cutting a whole area.

而不是皆伐整片區域

With permission granted to record

我得到許可

both before and after the operation,

能在開工前及開工後錄音

I set up my gear and captured a large number of dawn choruses

我把器材架好錄到了大量的清晨鳥叫聲

to very strict protocol and calibrated recordings,

錄音及校準條件非常嚴格

because I wanted a really good baseline.

因為我想要一條非常好的基線

This is an example of a spectrogram.

這是聲音頻譜分析的例子

A spectrogram is a graphic illustration of sound

聲音頻譜分析把聲音用圖像表示

with time from left to right across the page --

時間軸從頁面的左到右

15 seconds in this case is represented —

這個例子畫了 15 秒

and frequency from the bottom of the page to the top,

頻率軸從頁面的下到上

lowest to highest.

從最低到最高

And you can see that the signature of a stream

你可以看到一條小溪的音調

is represented here in the bottom third or half of the page,

呈現在頁面下方三分之一處

while birds that were once in that meadow

而那片草地原有的小鳥

are represented in the signature across the top.

其音調則在頁面上方出現

There were a lot of them.

那裏曾有很多小鳥

And here's Lincoln Meadow before selective logging.

這是林肯草原在等級伐採前的聲音

(Nature sounds)

（大自然的聲音）

Well, a year later I returned,

但是一年之後我回去

and using the same protocols

在同樣的設定條件

and recording under the same conditions,

同樣的狀態下錄音

I recorded a number of examples

我錄了幾個範例

of the same dawn choruses,

同樣是清晨鳥叫聲

and now this is what we've got.

而這是我們現在所得到的

This is after selective logging.

這是等級採伐之後的狀態

You can see that the stream is still represented

你可以聽見小溪依然呈現在

in the bottom third of the page,

頁面的下方三分之一處

but notice what's missing in the top two thirds.

但是注意一下頁面上方 三分之二處缺了什麼

(Nature sounds)

（大自然的聲音）

Coming up is the sound of a woodpecker.

馬上要出現的是啄木鳥的聲音

Well, I've returned to Lincoln Meadow 15 times

嗯，過去 25 年內我陸陸續續

in the last 25 years,

去了林肯草原 15 次

and I can tell you that the biophony,

而我可以告訴你生物聲響

the density and diversity of that biophony,

那裡的生物聲響密度及多樣性

has not yet returned to anything like it was

還沒有恢復到

before the operation.

開工前的狀態

But here's a picture of Lincoln Meadow taken after,

但這是林肯草原在開工後的照片

and you can see that from the perspective of the camera

而你可以看見從照相機的角度

or the human eye,

或說從人眼的角度

hardly a stick or a tree appears to be out of place,

很難發現有哪根枝哪棵樹不見了

which would confirm the logging company's contention

這可以證實這家伐木公司的論點

that there's nothing of environmental impact.

就是沒有環境影響

However, our ears tell us a very different story.

然而我們的耳朵聽到的 卻完全不是這麼回事

Young students are always asking me

年輕的學生總是要問我

what these animals are saying,

這些動物在說什麼

and really I've got no idea.

而我是真的不知道

But I can tell you that they do express themselves.

但我可以告訴你牠們的確會表達自己

Whether or not we understand it is a different story.

我們瞭解與否則是另外一回事

I was walking along the shore in Alaska,

有一次我沿著阿拉斯加的海岸行走

and I came across this tide pool

我遇到了這個退潮後的小潮池

filled with a colony of sea anemones,

裡面佈滿了一群海葵

these wonderful eating machines,

這些奇妙的捕食機器

relatives of coral and jellyfish.

珊瑚及水母的親戚

And curious to see if any of them made any noise,

我很好奇想看看牠們會不會發出聲音

I dropped a hydrophone,

所以我垂吊了一個水聽器下去

an underwater microphone covered in rubber,

是一種水下麥克風，以橡膠包住

down the mouth part,

才降到海葵口盤處

and immediately the critter began

這些小怪物立刻開始

to absorb the microphone into its belly,

把麥克風吸入肚子裡

and the tentacles were searching out of the surface

而且觸手就在麥克風表面上尋找

for something of nutritional value.

有營養價值的東西

The static-like sounds that are very low,

這種像靜電的聲音非常低頻

that you're going to hear right now.

你們馬上就會聽到

(Static sounds)

（靜電聲音）

Yeah, but watch. When it didn't find anything to eat --

對！但聽！當牠找不到東西可吃

(Honking sound)

（喇叭聲）

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I think that's an expression that can be understood

我認為這種表達法是大家都能理解的

in any language.

共通語言

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

At the end of its breeding cycle,

在繁殖週期尾聲

the Great Basin Spadefoot toad

大盆地鋤足蟾

digs itself down about a meter under

會在地表下一公尺處挖一個洞

the hard-panned desert soil of the American West,

在這種硬梆梆的美西沙漠土壤裡

where it can stay for many seasons

牠可以在那裡待上好幾個季節

until conditions are just right for it to emerge again.

直到環境又合適了才出來

And when there's enough moisture in the soil

當土地的水分足夠了

in the spring, frogs will dig themselves to the surface

春天時，青蛙會在地表挖洞

and gather around these large, vernal pools

聚在這些又大又生氣盎然的池子旁邊

in great numbers.

數量很大

And they vocalize in a chorus

而且牠們發聲合唱

that's absolutely in sync with one another.

彼此之間絕對同步

And they do that for two reasons.

牠們如此做有兩個原因

The first is competitive, because they're looking for mates,

第一是為了競爭 因為牠們在尋找交配對象

and the second is cooperative,

第二是為了合作

because if they're all vocalizing in sync together,

因為如果牠們同步發聲

it makes it really difficult for predators like coyotes,

天敵如土狼、狐狸、貓頭鷹等

foxes and owls to single out any individual for a meal.

很難從中挑出單隻當飯吃

This is a spectrogram of what the frog chorusing looks like

這是青蛙合唱的聲音頻譜分析的樣子

when it's in a very healthy pattern.

在生態條件非常健康的狀態下

(Frogs croaking)

（青蛙呱呱叫）

Mono Lake is just to the east of Yosemite National Park

莫諾湖就在優勝美地國家公園東方

in California,

位於加州

and it's a favorite habitat of these toads,

這裡是這些蟾蜍最愛的棲地

and it's also favored by U.S. Navy jet pilots,

同時這裡也是美國 海軍戰鬥機駕駛的最愛

who train in their fighters flying them at speeds

他們在這裡訓練飛行員以時速

exceeding 1,100 kilometers an hour

超過一千一百公里的速度駕駛飛機

and altitudes only a couple hundred meters

但飛行高度只距

above ground level of the Mono Basin,

莫諾盆地地表數百公尺

very fast, very low, and so loud

非常快非常低而且很大聲

that the anthrophony, the human noise,

所以這些人的聲響，人類的噪音

even though it's six and a half kilometers

即使遠在六公里半以外

from the frog pond you just heard a second ago,

就是距離那個你剛剛聽到的青蛙池塘

it masked the sound of the chorusing toads.

這些噪音也能把 蟾蜍大合唱的聲音給蓋掉

You can see in this spectrogram that all of the energy

你可以看見在這個聲音頻譜分析裡

that was once in the first spectrogram is gone

本來在第一個聲音頻譜分析圖

from the top end of the spectrogram,

上端的能量都不見了

and that there's breaks in the chorusing at two and a half,

而合唱在兩秒半

four and a half, and six and a half seconds,

四秒半及六秒半都中斷了

and then the sound of the jet, the signature,

然後噴射機的聲音，這個音頻

is in yellow at the very bottom of the page.

在頁面最下面以黃線畫出

(Frogs croaking)

（青蛙呱呱叫）

Now at the end of that flyby,

那麼在定點飛行結束後

it took the frogs fully 45 minutes

這些青蛙要花整整 45 分鐘

to regain their chorusing synchronicity,

才能重現同步合唱

during which time, and under a full moon,

在這段期間，在大滿月下

we watched as two coyotes and a great horned owl

我們觀察到有兩隻土狼及一隻大雕鴞

came in to pick off a few of their numbers.

跑來抓了幾隻走

The good news is that, with a little bit of habitat restoration

好消息是因為棲地復原了一點點

and fewer flights, the frog populations,

飛行訓練也少了一點 這些青蛙的總數

once diminishing during the 1980s and early '90s,

本來在 1980 年間及 90 年代早期減少的

have pretty much returned to normal.

現在已經恢復得差不多了

I want to end with a story told by a beaver.

我想以一隻河狸說的故事來結尾

It's a very sad story,

這是個非常悲哀的故事

but it really illustrates how animals

但確實描繪了動物

can sometimes show emotion,

有時候也有情感表現

a very controversial subject among some older biologists.

這在老一輩的生物學者間 是非常具爭議的題目

A colleague of mine was recording in the American Midwest

我有個同事在美國中西部

around this pond that had been formed

一個池塘附近錄音

maybe 16,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.

大概是在一萬六千年前 上一個冰河時期末時形成的

It was also formed in part by a beaver dam

池塘的一部分也是河狸水壩

at one end that held that whole ecosystem together

在一端維持整個生態系

in a very delicate balance.

非常微妙的平衡

And one afternoon, while he was recording,

有一天下午他在錄音

there suddenly appeared from out of nowhere

突然不知道從哪兒冒出

a couple of game wardens,

一對狩獵監督官

who for no apparent reason,

他們並沒有什麼明顯的理由

walked over to the beaver dam,

就走到那座河狸水壩

dropped a stick of dynamite down it, blowing it up,

丟了一根炸彈下去把它炸了

killing the female and her young babies.

弄死了一頭雌河狸及幾隻小河狸

Horrified, my colleagues remained behind

我的同事嚇壞了躲著不敢出來

to gather his thoughts

試著整理情緒

and to record whatever he could the rest of the afternoon,

並繼續記錄那天下午 還能錄到的東西

and that evening, he captured a remarkable event:

到了晚上，他捕捉到了 一個令人動容的畫面

the lone surviving male beaver swimming in slow circles

孤單倖存的雄河狸緩慢的游泳繞圈圈

crying out inconsolably for its lost mate and offspring.

傷心欲絕地哀哭著牠失去的妻小

This is probably the saddest sound

這大概是我所聽過

I've ever heard coming from any organism,

從生物口中發出最令人難過的聲音了

human or other.

無論是從人類或動物的口

(Beaver crying)

（河狸哭泣）

Yeah. Well.

是啊，唉！

There are many facets to soundscapes,

聲境有很多面

among them the ways in which animals taught us to dance and sing,

其中還有動物教我們跳舞唱歌

which I'll save for another time.

這部分我下次再說

But you have heard how biophonies

但你已經聽到生物聲響如何

help clarify our understanding of the natural world.

幫助我們更清楚地了解大自然世界

You've heard the impact of resource extraction,

你也已經聽到資源開採

human noise and habitat destruction.

人類噪音以及棲地破壞的影響

And where environmental sciences have typically

環境科學通常

tried to understand the world from what we see,

試著以肉眼所見來了解這個世界