Eclipse Soundscapes Preliminary Findings – How Eclipses Affect Nature as determined by Sound (Recorded Webinar)

During this May 7, 2025 webinar, Dr. Brent Pease, an expert in wildlife conservation, soundscapes, and participatory science, shared early findings from audio data collected by ES Data Collectors during the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses. During the eclipses, volunteer scientists used sound recorders called AudioMoths to capture how animals and the environment reacted to the sudden midday darkness. What changes in sound were recorded? How did the eclipse affect the behavior of birds, insects, and other wildlife? Dr. Pease walked us through these questions and revealed what scientists are uncovering from this large-scale research effort. The talk highlights the power of participatory science and how anyone, regardless of background, can contribute to real scientific discoveries. General Eclipse Soundscapes Project Information The Eclipse Soundscapes Project (ES) was a NASA Volunteer Science project funded by NASA Science Activation that studied how solar eclipses affect life on Earth during the October 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse and the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. ES revisited a historic study from the early 1900s showing that animals respond to eclipses and used modern technology and public participation to expand that research. Eclipse Soundscapes was an enterprise of ARISA Lab, LLC and was supported by NASA award No. 80NSSC21M0008. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in materials from the project were those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.